India’s young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been receiving praise from all corners as he made an incredible record in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this week. The young talent smashed seven sixes in an over against Uttar Pradesh. Gaikwad hit 42 runs off seven deliveries (one no-ball) against left-arm bowler Shiva Singh in Ahmedabad. He became the first batter to achieve this incredible feat in List A history.
Batting on 165 off 147 deliveries, Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed Singh for a stunning six over wide long-on to begin his carnage in the 49th over of Maharashtra’s innings. He followed it up with another six over the bowler’s head and then smashed two back-to-back sixes over long-off.
However, on the fifth delivery, the bowler overstepped and the free=hit was sent over long-on again before Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed Singh over the deep midwicket boundary for his 7th six of the over. Eventually, Ruturaj remained unbeaten on 220 in the innings, as Maharashtra won the game by 58 runs. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been sensational in the ongoing season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Chennai Super Kings opener Gaikwad now has 552 runs in just 4 matches in Vijay Hazare Trophy this season with three hundred and a strike rate of 122.
Meanwhile, talking to the BCCI after the record-breaking performance, Ruturaj Gaikwad said that only one person came to his mind after he smashed the 5th six of the over and that was Yuvraj Singh.
Notably, former Indian superstar Yuvraj Singh was the first player to hit six sixes in an over in T20Is; he achieved the feat during the inaugural T20 World Cup game against England in 2007. Reminiscing the iconic performance of Yuvi, Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
“After the fifth six, only one person crossed my mind, and that was Yuvraj Singh. I had seen him hit six sixes in an over when I was really young during the World Cup. I wanted to be alongside him, that’s why I wanted to go for the sixth one. I was very happy that I was able to hit six sixes. I never thought I would be hitting six sixes in an over,”
He added: “It’s a great pleasure to be alongside his name and to be a part of the hype that’s all around this over,”
