The Great Camaraderie of Batsmanship Between Gill and Ruturaj
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill, the two rising stars, who raise the bar for Indian cricket's future prospects.
On a mighty fine evening in Ahmedabad, the talk of the town was the arrival of MS Dhoni. Yes, you have guessed it right, the IPL was about to start. Gujarat Titans were locking horns with the team in yellow, CSK, led by Thala.
It all started with the great singing maestro Arijit Singh performing at the tournament’s opening ceremony. Very few things can overshadow Arijit Singh’s singing; however, the strokeplay of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill on that day certainly did.
The moment Gaikwad punched Hardik Pandya off the backfoot for a four, followed by a lovely drive on the up, the team from Gujarat knew they were in for a very long day. Every type of bowling was being dispatched into the stands.
Gaikwad, always an elite player of traditional and quick spin bowling, now finds his game against back-of-length pace bowling in a better space than it was a year ago. His knock of 92, helped by four boundaries and 9 sixes, ensured CSK ended up at 178.
Gaikwad’s batting revolves around deft touches and timing, rather than power hitting, which has become a common sight these days. Going forward in his career, Ruturaj will be expected to find adaptability on different kinds of surfaces, which will further test his endurance and depth as a batter. This innings showed glimpses of what could be in the years to come.
In the second innings, when Gujarat started their innings, they knew they would have to utilize the fielding restrictions in the first six overs, and Gill took the onus on himself. Unlike Ruturaj, who’s more of a copybook player, Gill is a modern player who employs a back-and-cross technique.
He’s marginally a better player of quick bowling than Rutu, and his game against spin bowling is as good as anyone’s, ensuring you can’t contain him by bowling a specific type of delivery. His knock of 63 made the CSK bowling look pedestrian, but the crowd witnessed some high-quality batting displays.
When judging a new batter, two things I look at are how well he plays spin bowling and how he fares against back-of-length pace bowling. Gill passed that test with flying colors and is on his way to becoming one of the all-time great batters we’ll ever see.
Their performances not only impressed the spectators but also ignited discussions about the depth of India’s batting talent pool. With Gaikwad already knocking on the doors of national selection at 27 and Gill establishing himself as a key player for the Indian team at just 23, the future indeed looks promising for Indian cricket.
As the evening unfolded, it became evident that Gaikwad and Gill’s ability to excel in different conditions and against varied bowling attacks is a testament to India’s rich tradition of producing exceptional batters. With their calm demeanor and consistent performances, they are undoubtedly destined for greatness in the annals of cricketing history.
