The Men in Blue landed in this historical city on Saturday as the No. 1 team across formats. They had made history when they beat Australia in the first ODI at Mohali; only South Africa had achieved the feat of being the ICC’s top-ranking team for men in Tests, ODIs and T20Is at the same time, back in 2012.
It is no doubt a significant achievement and a fair reflection of the strength and depth of the present day Indian cricket. Ruturaj Gaikwad provided a glimpse of that.
The stylish opener is not part of the World Cup squad and has been named only for the first two games of this series, but he played a crucial role in India’s five-wicket win in the opening match on Friday night. He scored 71 attractive runs – a maiden ODI fifty, in his third match – and put on 142 for the first wicket with Shubman Gill, himself a stylist of the top drawer.
