India’s young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad made his ODI debut for India against South Africa last week however the game didn’t go down as expected. Ruturaj came out to bat at one down and managed to score 19 runs but he was all at sea throughout his knock that lasted 42 deliveries.
The Indian side was chasing a total of 250 runs in a 40-over game against South Africa and many pointed fingers at Gaikwad for the reason behind India’s defeat as his sluggish knock put extra pressure on the batter who walked out to bat after him.
Following his disappointing performance, Gaikwad was criticized and trolled left, right and center on social media with some fans even questioning his place in the Indian team. As a result, he was also dropped from the team and was sitting on the bench for the remaining two matches.
Now in less than 24 hours after the series got over, Ruturaj returned to domestic cricket and made a brilliant comeback. Ruturaj, who is leading the Maharastran side in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, smashed a brilliant hundred against Services at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Batting at his usual position, Gaikwad scored 112 off just 65 balls with the help of 12 fours and five maximums. He led his side by example and proved why he is highly regarded in the domestic circuit.
Also, he was the only batter who performed well as the other batters gave disappointing performances. Thanks to his stunning century, Maharashtra were able to post an imposing total of 185 for six in their 20 overs quota.
Meanwhile, social media has been buzzing with reactions from fans. While there are many who are hailing Gaikwad for his terrific knock, on the other hand, there are many who are trolling him saying he was nothing but a domestic bully, instead of praising him.
Check out the mixed reactions of fans:
Dhawan In Last 2 Odis combined- 17 (37)
Ruturaj Gaikwad in his debut match- 19 (42)
No hate to Dhawan but Ruturaj literally deserves another chance๐ pic.twitter.com/gxSWwhgMpDโ Pradipยถ๐ฎ๐ณ (@Pradip27_) October 9, 2022
Indian Cricket was never the same after MS Dhoni’s retirement ๐
All CSK players getting dropped unfairly under new era. Can’t wait for Ruturaj to score 700 runs next IPL and mock clownery of ICT management.#INDvSA #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/5QAyivTNYY
โ ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฏ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐งโข๐ฆ (@Arnav_Tweetz7) October 9, 2022
Ruturaj Gaikwad returns from national duty and hits a 59-ball hundred for Maharashtra in #SyedMushtaqAliT20 against Services in Mohali. His second hundred in T20s.
โ Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) October 12, 2022
It’s very very easy for Ruturaj to score runs in domestic cricket. https://t.co/hTAT8mflc9
โ Kurkureter 2.0๐ณ๏ธโ๐ (@cricketoholicc) October 12, 2022
His domestic performance doesn’t matter. Need it in internationals.
โ เฒถเณเฒฒเณเฒถเณ เฒเณเฒเฒชเณเฒเณเฒก | Sailesh (@Kempegowdashai) October 12, 2022
He needs to get more chances in intl cricket especially ODIs. If you give one game to perform, then the likes of Rohit Sharma won’t have a career.
โ ; (@AIH183no) October 12, 2022
He needs more backing in odi’s from India. Dhawan and vvs dropped him after 1 failure. Rutu showing levels.
โ ANIRUDH MSDIAN (@ani_edits2021) October 12, 2022
What happens to him in International ๐ https://t.co/5aLEdeE3A8
โ A random person (@TheAlienfromSun) October 12, 2022