Ruturaj Gaikwad Achieves Historic Record With Vijay Hazare Trophy Ton, Just 5 Days After ODI Snub

Just days after being dropped from India's ODI squad for the series against New Zealand, batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has achieved a massive record in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India's premier domestic 50-over tournament. Captaining Maharashtra, Gaikwad slammed an excellent 134 off 131 balls against Goa on Thursday. The century meant that Gaikwad equalled the record for the most centuries by a batter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 15. Coincidentally, Gaikwad's Maharashtra teammate Ankit Bawne is the player who previously held the record outright.

The 28-year-old has taken just 59 innings to reach the milestone. Bawne, meanwhile, has already played more than 100 matches.

Gaikwad and Bawne's tally of 15 are closely followed by Karnataka duo Devdutt Padikkal and Mayank Agarwal, who have 13 each. Both batters have been in red-hot form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Padikkal, who plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, has slammed 13 centuries in just 35 innings, and is closing in rapidly on Gaikwad's newly-achieved feat. The 25-year-old left-hander has already struck four centuries in the ongoing season.

India’s legendary ODI batting stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Sourav Ganguly, and MS Dhoni are nowhere near the record when it comes to the Vijay Hazare Trophy.