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West Zone middle-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad went on to smack 184 runs off 206 balls with 25 fours and a six at a strike rate of 89.32 against Central Zone in the second semi-final of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025-26 season.
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Speaking to the media after the end of the opening day’s play, Ruturaj stated that he has worked on his red-ball game during his long injury layoff. However, he added that he has a long distance to travel.
“I had good time to prepare, especially after not being part of the India A series. And then after that coming back, I decided to work on my red ball game, give it some amount of time and obviously still working on it, still long way to go,” said Gaikwad
“Not really. Actually, it was just about following the process. The red ball game actually needs a lot of patience, a lot of process to be followed and it was just about getting into that rhythm. And you know, I did it for almost one, one and a half months and obviously Buchi Babu as well and then it happened here as well,” he added.
For the unversed, Gaikwad suffered an elbow injury in April this year while playing against the Rajasthan Royals in the recently concluded IPL 2025 season as CSK skipper. Later, he was ruled out of the remainder of the season.
Moreover, he missed being part of the India A squad against England Lions ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. Also, he pulled out of the County deal with Yorkshire, citing personal reasons.
“I mean, nobody would want to have a family time being injured. It was a very fluke injury and nothing anyone can do about it. So, I just enjoyed my time at home and then obviously trying to get into the rhythm, get into the game routines, you know, do the small things and really loved the process throughout,” he noted.
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