Ruturaj Gaikwad once again showed why he is seen as one of India’s most reliable batsmen in domestic cricket. The Maharashtra captain played a special innings to achieve a significant feat in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 clash against Goa.
Maharashtra were in deep trouble at the start of the match as Maharashtra were in deep trouble at the start of the match as Goa’s aggressive bowling attack completely collapsed in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Goa in Jaipur on Thursday (January 8), as they lost six wickets for just 52 runs.
The situation seemed almost beyond repair, but the captain has a different plan. Gaikwad started his innings cautiously, choosing survival rather than risk. From his first 107 balls, the right-handed batsman scored 77 runs, taking over the innings as wickets kept falling around him.
Then came a dramatic change. In the final stages, Gaikwad changed gears like only top players can. He scored 57 runs in his last 24 balls. By the end, the Maharashtra captain scored a brilliant unbeaten 134 runs in 132 balls with the help of 8 fours and 6 sixes.
Gaikwad was not alone in the rescue operation. Vicky Ostwal played an important role by scoring consecutive half-centuries and provided necessary support in the middle. In the end, Rajvardhan Hangargekar produced late fireworks, remaining unbeaten on 32 off just 19 balls.
Despite eight Maharashtra batsmen failing against the brutal Goa bowling, a heroic innings from the captain took the team to a respectable score of 249 runs for 7 wickets on the board in 50 overs. Vasuki Kaushik was Goa’s best bowler with 3 wickets for 38 runs in 10 overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s century sets up triple milestone in Vijay Hazare Trophy
This was Gaikwad’s 15th century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. With this century, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain equaled the long-standing record of most centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is held by Ankit Bavan, who also has 15 centuries in the tournament.
Also read: Ruturaj Gaikwad broke Virat Kohli’s all-time record, became India’s number 1 List A batsman.
Gaikwad reached this milestone in just 59 matches, which highlights his consistency and hunger for big scores. Additionally, this was the Maharashtra captain’s 20th List A century and he reached the milestone in just 95 innings. During the same innings, Gaikwad crossed 5,000 List A runs, turning the innings into a triple celebration.
equaled Ruturaj Gaikwad #VijayJaareTrophy Record for most centuries with his 15th century in just 59 matches. This is his 20th List A century in just 95 innings, and he also completed 5000 runs in this format during this innings.
– Lalit Kalidas (@lal__kal) 8 January 2026
to be continued…