Ruturaj Gaikwad smashes century during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal against Central Zone
Ruturaj Gaikwad smashes century during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal against Central Zone
West Zone batter Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a century on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Gaikwad notched up his eighth First-Class ton off 131 balls with the help of 13 fours. With his team in a spot of bother early in the day, Gaikwad stitched a crucial 82-run alliance for the third wicket with Aarya Desai and helped West Zone recover from 10 for two.
He then combined with Shreyas Iyer and Shams Mulani for partnerships worth 45 and 42 runs, respectively, to further steady West Zone’s innings.
Gaikwad then forged a 148-run stand with Tanush Kotian for the sixth wicket before being dismissed for 184 off 206 balls (25×4, 1×6).
The ongoing Duleep Trophy, which kickstarts India’s 2025-26 domestic season, is Gaikwad’s first professional outing since the Indian Premier League, during which the Chennai Super Kings skipper suffered an elbow injury and was ruled out of the tournament after playing just five matches.
The 28-year-old last represented India in July last year during the tour of Zimbabwe in the T20 format. Achieving consistency across formats and maintaining fitness will be at the top of Gaikwad’s priority list during the domestic season as he looks to make a strong case for a return to national reckoning.
Published on Sep 04, 2025
