Ruturaj Gaikwad scripts these milestones in IPL 2024
Chennai Super Kings' campaign in the 2024 Indian Premier League has been ended. They bowed out after losing their final league-stage fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday. Though CSK didn't qualify for the playoffs, their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad enjoyed an impressive run with the bat. Notably, this was Gaikwad's maiden leadership assignment in IPL. Let's decode the records he scripted in IPL 2024.
550-plus runs in three separate seasons
With 583 runs at 53, Gaikwad finished as CSK's highest run-getter (SR: 141.16). He hammered four fifties besides a ton. As the young batter scored 635 runs in 2021 and 590 runs last season, Gaikwad became the first batter to hammer 550-plus runs for CSK in three separate editions. No other CSK batter has enjoyed even two such seasons.
Fastest Indian to 2,000 IPL runs
During the game against Mumbai Indians, Gaikwad became the fastest Indian to complete 2,000 IPL runs (57 innings). On the overall list, Gaikwad is only behind Chris Gayle and Shaun Marsh, who took 48 and 52 innings, respectively, to touch the mark. Meanwhile, Gaikwad has now raced to 2,380 IPL runs at 41.75. His strike rate is a healthy 136.86 (50s: 18, 100s: 2).
Third player with multiple IPL tons for CSK
Gaikwad scored an incredible ton against Lucknow Super Giants. He slammed an unbeaten 108(60). This was his second IPL century as his maiden one came against Rajasthan Royals in 2021 (101). Gaikwad became only the third batter with multiple IPL centuries for CSK. Murali Vijay (2) and Shane Watson (2) are the only other players with this record.
Most 90-plus scores for CSK
The game against Sunrisers Hyderabad saw Gaikwad score 98 off 54 balls. He missed out on becoming the first CSK batter with successive IPL centuries. Meanwhile, this was Gaikwad's fifth 90-plus score in IPL. Suresh Raina (3) is the only other batter with more than two 90-plus scores in CSK colors. Faf du Plessis has two such scores in this regard.
Most 50-plus scores for CSK as an opener
Gaikwad touched the 50-run mark five times in the season. One of his fifties came while batting at number three. Meanwhile, the star batter now has the highest number of 50-plus scores by a CSK opener in the IPL (19). He went past du Plessis (16). Gaikwad also became the first batter to complete 2,000 runs for CSK as an opener (now 2,289).
