WATCH: Ruturaj Gaikwad hits Anrich Nortje for five consecutive fours, including one straight off the helmet grill
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan got India off to a brisk start in the third T20I against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, after Rishabh Pant lost the toss for the third straight time in the series.
Gaikwad, who registered scores of 23 and 1 in the first two games, came out all guns blazing in the powerplay, striking five fours and two sixes - four of them coming in one Anrich Nortje over which also included four leg-byes off the helmet grill.
The first ball of the fifth over of the innings bowled by the speedster was cut fiercely to the point boundary, and a cross-batted swat off a back-of-a-length ball wide of mid-on followed. Nortje responded with a sharp, incoming bouncer, which struck the right-hander on the helmet as he attempted to sway away, and floored him, the ball racing to the boundary for four leg byes.
A concussion test break couldn’t deter Gaikwad’s flow, who flicked one towards the mid-wicket boundary, before one was guided past the short third-man fieler for another four.
A wristy flick off Dwaine Pretorius sent the ball sailing into the stands, much like it had off Kagiso Rabada earlier in the innings.
Watch the action-packed over here:
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Gaikwad got to his maiden T20I fifty with a nudge to the on-side off Keshav Maharaj, and was dismissed caught and bowled by the same bowler an over later. He struck seven fours and two sixes during his 35-ball 57.
Ishan Kishan too, raced to his fourth T20I fifty, the second of the series, off 31 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Shreyas Iyer fell to Tabraiz Shamsi for 14 soon after. India were 128/2 from 13 overs at the time of writing, with Kishan joined by Pant.
South Africa currently lead the five-match series 2-0.