Duleep Trophy 2025: Back from injury, Ruturaj Gaikwad's century lays path for India comeback

Ace batter Ruturaj Gaikwad brought up an impressive ton on Day 1 of the second semi-final between West Zone and Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B in Bengaluru. This was Gaikwad's eighth ton in First-Class cricket, as he came in to bat at No. 4 in the opening session of the all-important penultimate encounter against the Rajat Patidar-led side.

The Pune-born was rightfully wary against the new ball and stayed intact at one end despite the fall of early wickets in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 off 3) and Harvik Desai (1 off 4). Only 28 of his 100 runs came against the pacers, as solid knock was well-appreciated by the West Zone dugout. He attacked the spinners, particularly during the post-Lunch session.

Gaikwad had scored 55 from 86 at the time Lunch was called. He got to his ton on his 131st delivery, creaming 13 fours along the way. The Chennai Super Kings skipper got to the memorable landmark with a drive through the cover region off the left-arm spin of Harsh Dubey. The Maharashtra batter was much more fluid in terms of shot selection while facing the spinners.

Coming to the match and how it has panned out up until now, West Zone won the toss and opted to bat first. Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar struck twice early in the day to get rid of Jaiswal and Harvik. A quicker one from Harsh Dubey brought about the downfall of Aarya Desai (39 off 84). Shreyas Iyer looked quite decent at the crease before he was dismissed for 25 off 28.

Gaikwad was ruled out of the majority of IPL 2025 due to an elbow fracture, in what was quite a disappointing episode for him and CSK as well. Star wicketkeeper and five-time winning skipper MS Dhoni captained the Men in Yellow for the remainder of the season. CSK ended up finishing rock-bottom for the first time. The ace batter will now hope to return stronger in the next season, and hopefully, remain injury-free.

Gaikwad is yet to play Test cricket for India. There are a couple of home Test series coming up West Indies and South Africa, respectively. If the star batter keeps up this kind of form, it is highly likely that he will earn his well-deserved call-up, which has been long due, according to fans and a plethora of cricketing pundits following Indian domestic cricket.