Former Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar has showered praise on Ruturaj Gaikwad after the second ODI against South Africa at Raipur on Wednesday. Gaikwad scored a fine knock of 105 runs off just 83 balls while batting at number four.
The right-hander added 195 runs with Virat Kohli for the third wicket and played a key role in helping India post 358 runs on the board. Gaikwad scored a dozen fours and two sixes in his knock as he was able to hit the ground running. The CSK star timed the ball to perfection and looked fluent throughout his knock.
Nayar highlighted that Gaikwad’s IPL leadership was seen in his batting.
“It needs to be celebrated because it’s a kind of win even in a loss. When you are given a chance at No. 4 because Shreyas Iyer is injured and you make the most of it with a century, it shows his maturity and leadership qualities,” Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports.
“He is CSK’s captain in the IPL and that leadership was seen in his batting today (Wednesday). If we see the fan clubs of any team over the years, they frequently discuss why Ruturaj Gaikwad is not given chances. He proved today that he is a big player. Big players score runs when they are given an opportunity,” he added.
Nayar said he had no doubt over Gaikwad’s capability and shared his delight after the right-hander scored a fine century while batting at number four, which is not his natural batting position.
“I am not at all surprised. Everyone knows what his capability is. I am happy because he has scored a century at a number he has never batted at, and that century didn’t come in the first match, but in the second match, where there was slight pressure on you,” he replied.
The former Mumbai batter Gaikwad scored his century under pressure and batted like an experienced player.
“You didn’t know whether you would get a chance in the third match if you hadn’t scored runs in this match. Big players are made when there is pressure on you. You scored runs that people feel compete with Virat Kohli’s runs. He was fully in control. It didn’t seem like a youngster was batting. It seemed like a very experienced batter who had 10 to 12 centuries behind him was batting,” Nayar elaborated.
The third and final ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
