"Ahead Of The Trend": Ruturaj Gaikwad Breaks Internet With 'Thala For A Reason' Post

Hours after playing a match-winning knock to help India take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series against Zimbabwe, star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad took social media by storm with his epic post on social media. Gaikwad has been in brilliant form in the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe, with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain registering scores of 77 and 49 in the second and third T20Is, respectively. As India took a 2-1 lead over Zimbabwe in the series on Wednesday, Gaikwad took to Instagram to share a hilarious post. While suggesting he is "ahead of the trend", Gaikwad shared a picture of his T20I cap, with number 88 engraved on it. For the unversed, Gaikwad is the 88th player to play for India.

Gaikwad connected the number with 7, a number which has been made famous in the cricketing world by fans of CSK and India legend MS Dhoni.

"I am ahead of the trend," Gaikwad captioned the post on his Instagram story.

Coming back to the third T20I, India captain Shubman Gill top-scored with a 49-ball 66, Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a quick 28-ball 49 and all-rounder Washington Sundar was smart in lengths to pick an economical 3-15 as India survived a fighting effort from Dion Myers to beat Zimbabwe by 23 runs.

On a two-paced pitch, a breezy Yashasvi Jaiswal and Gill had a 67-run opening stand, before Zimbabwe enforced a slowdown in the middle overs. Gill and Gaikwad joined forces for a 72-run partnership off 44 balls for the third wicket, which ensured India got past 180.

In reply, Zimbabwe were reduced to 39/5, before Myers and Clive Madande had a 77-run sixth-wicket stand to keep Zimbabwe in the hunt. Myers went on to be unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls, but it ended in vain as Zimbabwe could only make 159/6 in 20 overs.

(With ANI Inputs)