(Cricket news) Ruturaj Gaikwad has become the second batsmen this season to cross the 600 run mark in the Indian Premier League. He has now scored the most runs by an Indian for Chennai Super Kings as he crossed Ambati Rayudu’s record of 602 runs in 2018, Ruturaj has so far scored 603 runs with one more match to go. He is only the second Indian in the team to score more than 600 runs in a season after Rayudu and Ruturaj is only short of 23 runs from orange cap holder KL Rahul.

Chennai Super Kings first won the orange cap in 2009 when Matthew Hayden scored 572 runs and another Australian left hander Michael Hussey won it in 2013 when he scored 733 runs. Since then, no batter from Chennai has been able to top the list and neither have come close to Hussey’s record run. Ruturaj is closely followed by Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals who has 551 runs and in third is another Chennai batter Faf du Plessis who has 547 runs. Dhawan has the advantage as a victory in the second qualifier will give him one more match to play.

Ruturaj will have to score a record breaking century to eclipse Hussey’s run which came eight years ago but Ruturaj has a clear chance of wearing the orange cap and will look to do it for the team. Last year, he had scored 204 runs in six matches with three fifties and this year has not only been featuring in every match but has been a consistent run scorer as well. He has hit four fifties and one century so far including a 108m six which is the biggest this season. 

Ruturaj had a disastrous start to the season as he scored 20 runs in the first three matches and then scored a valuable half century which included a 115 run stand with du Plessis in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. In the first phase, he scored two half centuries and scored a total of 196 runs in seven matches. In the second phase, he started by carrying the team right from the start of the innings till the last ball by scoring 88* in 58 balls while defeating Mumbai Indians in the first match at UAE. 

Ruturaj kept scoring in every match as he scored the first century of the second phase when he fought a lone battle against Rajasthan Royals. At UAE, Ruturaj has so far scored 407 runs in eight matches with a score of 40 or more in five matches and has been a crucial asset for the team. With the final on 15th October, Ruturaj will be waiting to thrash the bowlers and finish the league with a cap as well as a trophy.

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