Watch: Ruturaj Gaikwad's elegant cover drive during IND A vs SA A ODI match

A good number of crowds at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot to see the India-A vs South Africa-A 3rd unofficial one-day. Ruturaj Gaikwad was at the center of the stage when the India A team stepped onto the pitch to bat.

Gaikwad has been in stunning form and started off well in the third match too. During today's brief innings, the batter played some textbook shots, which were a joy to watch. Against South Africa Team pacer Lutho Sipamla, the right-handed batter, played an elegant cover drive that raced to the boundary rope. Ruturaj scored 25 off 31. South African left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin picked up the wicket of Gaikwad.

In this match, South Africa A team went to bat first and registered a massive total of 325 against 6 wickets. The home team came to chase the run with their opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Gaikwad. Sharma was dismissed early, while the other opener, Gaikwad, was looking good on the track. His wicket proved costly for India. During the initial stage of the run chase, Gaikwad also played a magnificent straight drive against Lutho Sipamla.

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Copybook shots by Ruturaj Gaikwad vs South Africa A

The opening pair started their batting with an aggressive intention as the asking rate was high. Sharma too was looking in good touch and got an over boundary playing a pull shot as well. India-A lost their first wicket in the form of Abhishek Sharma on 33 in 5 overs. Tilak Varma came as the number 3 batter, but he came and got out quickly. Throughout the second innings, Indian batters showed glimpses of their class, but very few were able to live up to the expectation level.

After playing some fine knocks With the Maharashtra cricket team in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Ruturaj was named to the India A team and straightaway went to play a couple of matches against the South Africa A team. On November 13, the top-order batter scored 117 runs, and in the following match, against the same opponent, he got an unbeaten 67 in Rajkot. And today, he bagged a 25-run inning.