Follow UsIt’s the very first day of the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy season and we might have already just seen one of the knocks of the season as Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad launched an extraordinary rescue act for the ages.
Sent into bat on a seam-friendly wicket in Thiruvananthapuram, Maharashtra were in shambles at 5/4, with four of the top five registering ducks. The situation somehow got worse within a few minutes, as the visiting side lost another wicket to get reduced to 18/5.
It was from this point that Gaikwad produced an epic knock as he amassed 91 off 151 balls, smashing 11 fours, to dig his side out of trouble. With a well-deserved century there for the taking, though, Gaikwad got trapped LBW by Kerala speedster Eden Apple Tom.
Gaikwad was not alone in the rescue act as he had plenty of support from none other than Jalaj Saxena, who had moved from Kerala to Maharashtra just this season. Batting at No.7, Saxena scored a gritty 49 as he and Gaikwad added 122 runs together.
Gaikwad was the seventh wicket to fall, with the score reading 164/7 at the time of his dismissal. This is a very important domestic season for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, who has so far been unable to break into any format for India.