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New Delhi: India took a punt on asking specialist opener Ruturaj Gaikwad to bat at the pivotal No.4 spot and might be relieved as he responded with a century in the second ODI though it turned out to be for a losing cause.
Gaikwad smashed his maiden ODI ton but despite his 105-run knock India lost by four wickets, unable to defend a 359-run target in Raipur on Wednesday.
The series stands at 1-1 after the first two matches and with all to play for in the finale on Saturday (December 6) in Visakhapatnam, Gaikwad’s form would give India confidence.
Asked to bat at the injured Shreyas Iyer’s position, he was dismissed cheaply in Ranchi but was in his elements in Raipur, hitting 12 boundaries and two sixes in his 83-ball knock.
“I feel it's a privilege to have that kind of confidence from the management towards an opener who can bat at No 4 as well. I took it that way,” Gaikwad said after the match.
“It was just matter of how I can play my first 10-15 balls and after that, the process remains the same,” he added.
The right-hander shared a 195-run third wicket partnership with Virat Kohli (102) to help India post a healthy 358 for 5 and said his focus has always been to carry his bat throughout the innings.
“In one-day format, even when I was opening, I have always tried to make sure I am able to bat till the 45th over and capitalise after that,” he said.
“Somehow, I knew how to play in between (overs) 11 to 40, how to rotate strike (and) what are the boundary options. I was pretty much confident about how I can go through."
Gaikwad rated this century as the best knock of his career because batting at No. 4 was a “challenge” for him.
He was ruled out of the IPL with injury earlier this year and his time away from the national side gave the 28-year-old time to think on how to deal with challenging situations off the field.
“It is better if you don't think too much about all these things because (if) you are not in the present and whatever matches are in front of you, you don't have that much focus and that much preparation. Obviously, in the last Vijay Hazare Trophy, I wasn't able to make that many runs,” he said.
“Some things were going on in my mind, but after that, this year I thought that whichever match it is, whether it is a club game or any red-ball (or) white-ball format I play, I will make sure to stay consistent.
“If I get an opportunity, (it's) well and good, even if I don't get an opportunity, it is still fine. I realise that it is my duty to keep scoring runs as much as possible and if things happen (again it's) well and good, if not, still well and good.”
