Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], November 4 : Following his record-breaking partnership with batting legend Virat Kohli, Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad opened up on witnessing the veteran's "unbelievable batting" in nets and during matches in the past week, saying that "one dreams of moments like these" and sharing the crease with one of the greatest in the sport.
Ruturaj had a record-breaking 195-run partnership with Virat for the third wicket, the highest for any wicket in India versus South Africa ODIs. The partnership between the duo was marked by impeccable control against pace and spin alike, brilliant judgement in finding gaps, rotating the strike, and shifting into cautious and attacking gears at the right time.
Speaking about witnessing the 37-year-old bat in the nets and getting to share the crease with him, Rutu said that Virat has been "batting unbelievably", be it in nets or in the match for the past week, and their conversations revolved around finding gaps and rotating strike well.
"With regards to the best seat, I have been a witness to it (Virat's batting) since last week. Even in nets, he has been batting unbelievably. The way he has been able to convert it during the matches is so great. Even in this game, I enjoyed it a lot. I tried to be in my zone, not think about how he was scoring his runs and playing. The conversation was about having those small targets, manoeuvring the gaps, rotating strike and hitting boundaries. We had a good running between the wickets. You dream of these kind of moments," said Ruturaj in the post-match presser.
The partnership outdid the 194-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik during the Gwalior ODI back in 2010, during which Tendulkar had become the first men's cricketer to crack an ODI double ton.
In 12 ODIs this year, Virat has scored 586 runs in 12 innings at an average of 58.60, with a strike rate of 92.72, including three centuries, three fifties and a best score of 135.
Coming to the Raipur ODI, India was put to bat first by the Proteas, who had the hosts down at 62/2 after dismissals of Rohit Sharma (14) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22). Virat (102 in 93 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Ruturaj (105 in 83 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) put on a 195-run stand for the third wicket, putting India in command. Later, KL Rahul (66* in 43 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (24* in 27 balls, with two fours) finished off in style with a quickfire 69-run stand for the sixth wicket.
Marco Jansen (2/63) was the top bowler for the Proteas.
Proteas started off the chase with a flurry of boundaries, but they lost Quinton de Kock early. After that, skipper Temba Bavuma (46 in 48 balls, with three fours and a six) and Markram had a 101-run stand.Markram struck his fourth ODI ton and first as an opener, scoring 110 in 98 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes.
Another partnership of 92 runs between Matthew Breetzke (68 in 64 balls, with five fours) and Dewald Brevis (54 in 34 balls, with a four and five sixes) changed the game in favour of the Proteas. In the end, despite Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi's injuries making things easier for India, Keshav Maharaj (10*) and Corbin Bosch (25*) took SA to a memorable win with four wickets and four balls in hand.
Arshdeep Singh (2/54) was the top bowler for India, while Harshit Rana (1/70) figures' changed for worse after one poor over. Prasidh Krishna's poor show, conceding 82 in 8.2 overs was a massive point of difference in SA's win.
An exciting decider awaits on Saturday.
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