Ruturaj Gaikwad’s strange substitution during the current Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) game between Puneri Bappa and Ratnagiri Jets went viral. The captain attempted to run two and came within a hair’s breadth of the crease in the twelfth over of the opening innings. The Maharashtra cricketer was run out after his bat became lodged on the edge of the crease, his foot went airborne, and he lost control of the bat.
Interestingly, he tried to pick up a double by flicking the ball to the left side, but Krish Shahapurkar covered a great deal of ground and threw it expertly, allowing Nikhil Naik to collect and pull the stumps out of the ground. That ended Gaikwad’s incredible cameo of 29 runs off 15 balls, and things got worse for the Bappa.
Check out Ruturaj’s bizarre run right here:
Ruturaj gets run out in an unfortunate way 😱#MaharashtraPremierLeague#JioCinemaSports#MPLonJioCinema #MPLonSports18 pic.twitter.com/IvEDVKMs6j
— Sports18 (@Sports18) June 7, 2024
Neel Gandhi was out of the game early for Bappa, and the other batters were also having trouble accelerating. Gaikwad, batting at number four, batted with great bravery and gave his team a brief spurt of energy, but it was short-lived. The visitors’ rapid wicket losses made the situation more difficult. Sachin Bhosale and Rahul Desai attempted to exert control over the situation but were unsuccessful. Puneri scored 148 runs in the first inning thanks to the outstanding bowling of Satyajeet Bachhav, who claimed four wickets and Vijay Pawle two.
In the chase, Ratnagiri lost two wickets in rapid succession, but Dhiraj Phatangare held one end. Later on, Naik assumed the lead and was instrumental, as was skipper Azim Kazi. Compared to Naik’s 27 runs off 22 deliveries, Kazi scored 31 runs off 28 balls. With two balls left in the match, the Ratnagiri Jets emerged victorious thanks to significant cameos from Yogesh Chavan (17 runs off seven balls) and Bachhav (17 runs off six balls).
Ratnagiri Jets, who are situated in Pune, are now fifth in the points rankings, having retained their top spot.