Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad played a stellar knock to help Team India outclass Zimbabwe on MS Dhoni's birthday in Harare. Giving Dhoni a perfect birthday gift, the CSK skipper smashed 77 off 47 balls in the 2nd T20I of the five-game series between India and Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday. Taking up the No.3 position in the Indian lineup, Gaikwad joined forces with Rinku Singh as the duo powered Shubman Gill's men to a match-winning total.

With Gaikwad putting on a show for Team India, record-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) shared a special post for the franchise captain and his predecessor - Thala Dhoni. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Super Kings celebrated the special bond of Thala Dhoni and Gaikwad. “77 on 7/7 This Rutu-Thala Bond tho! #ZIMvIND,” the Super Kings mentioned in their post.

Dhoni turns 43

Nicknamed 'Captain Cool', Dhoni celebrated his 43rd birthday today. Dhoni donned the No.7 jersey throughout his iconic career for Team India. The only captain to win three major ICC trophies, Dhoni stepped down as CSK's captain ahead of IPL 2024. Dhoni was succeeded by Gaikwad, who is spearheading the top-order of the second-string Indian side in the Zimbabwe series.

India level series 1-1

While opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a record-setting century off 47 balls, Gaikwad scored 77 off 47 balls in the high-scoring contest. CSK superstar Gaikwad was assisted by Rinku Singh, who remained unbeaten on 48 off 22 balls as India posted 234-2 in 20 overs. Chasing the gigantic total, Zimbabwe were all out for 134 in 18.4 overs to lose the game by 100 runs.

Gaikwad lauds centurion Abhishek

“It was pretty much tough, the first 15 balls I played, I didn’t even middle a single ball. Wicket was slightly tough, me and Abhishek talked that we should take our time and then go for our shots and it worked. He took on the spinners really well, we talked about maintaining our shape while playing our shots, the wicket was slightly two-paced, some balls were skidding and some were holding up. I think we need to stick to hard lengths, stick to good lengths, just Test match lengths, keep it simple and try to hit top of off,” Gaikwad said.

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