Ruturaj Gaikwad scripts history against Australia in T20I bilateral series
Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been exceptional in the five-match T20I series against Australia. He finished the series as the highest run-scorer against the Aussies ever in a T20I bilateral series. Gaikwad scored 10 runs in the fifth match in Bengaluru but it was enough for the 26-year-old to script history. He has scored the third-most runs for India in a bilateral T20I series.
Third-highest run-getter by an Indian in a bilateral T20I series
Gaikwad finished the series with 223 runs from the five matches at an average of 55.75, which placed him in third spot. KL Rahul pips him with 224 runs in a T20I bilateral series against New Zealand in 2020. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is the highest Indian run-getter in a T20I bilateral series when he hammered 231 runs against England in 2021.
Most runs against Australia in a T20I bilateral series
Gaikwad now owns the most runs against Australia in a T20I bilateral series. Gaikwad broke the record of NZ dasher Martin Guptill, who scored 218 runs in five matches against the Aussies in 2021. His scores in the five-match series read: 0, 58, 123*, 32, and 10. On Sunday, he was dismissed by Ben Dwarshuis.
Fastest Indian batter to complete 4,000 T20 runs
Earlier in the series, Gaikwad completed his 4,000 T20 runs in only 116 innings, making him the fastest Indian batter to achieve this feat. As per Cricbuzz, the dashing opener has leapfrogged Rahul, who held the previous record of achieving this milestone in 117 T20 innings. Kohli is the third-fastest Indian to complete the same feat in 138 T20 innings.
Joint fourth-fastest to 4,000 T20 runs
Gaikwad also became the joint fourth-fastest to the milestone. He shares his record with New Zealand's Devon Conway. Chris Gayle is the fastest to reach the landmark in only 107 innings. While Gaikwad is also behind the likes of Shaun Marsh (113), and Pakistan ace batter Babar Azam (115).
Gaikwad has completed 500 T20I runs
Gaikwad became the 16th Indian batter to accomplish 500 runs in T20 cricket. He reached the milestones in only 19 matches at an average of 35.71. He has hammered three fifties and a solitary ton which came in this T20I series. His 123* is the second-highest T20I score by an Indian batter, only behind Shubman Gill's unbeaten 126 against NZ earlier this year.
