'Wish For Sanju, Ruturaj to be Trending..': Gaikwad Records Career Best T20I Score After R Ashwin's Huge Prediction

Team India spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin hoped that Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson would help India go past the 200-run mark in the second T20I against Ireland, however, even though the two Indian batters put together a crucial partnership, the Men in Blue couldn’t get near the 200 mark.

Gaikwad ended up scoring his best-ever score in T20I cricket, smashing a fifty to help India recover after a shaky start as the Jasprit Bumrah-led unit lost a couple of early wickets. The Indian opener smashed 58 runs in 43 balls, including six boundaries and a solitary maximum before getting dismissed.

After having claimed a narrow 2-run win in the first T20I fixture on Friday, the Men in Blue were hoping to wrap up the series with another win in Dublin. Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and elected to bowl first.

India vs Ireland, 2nd T20I LIVE Score: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Fifty, Rinku Singh Cameo Propel IND to 185/5

While his bowlers did ensure that their captain’s decision to bowl was correct as India were 34/2 after losing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma in quick succession.

However, Samson and Gaikwad steadied the ship subsequently and stitched together a 71-run stand. Samson was dismissed for a score of 40 as he missed out on a well-deserved fifty.

In the end, a flourishing finish from Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube helped India to a total of 185/5, as the Men in Blue fell narrowly short of Ashwin’s 200 prediction.

“A 200 game?” wrote the spinner on X, before putting out another post as he correctly predicted that Samson and Gaikwad would bail out India from the precarious position.

“Interesting pitch! Par score estimation key at this stage. I wish for Sanju and Rutu to be trending after 40 minutes,” read a subsequent post from Ashwin.

Rinku took centre stage after the dismissals of Gaikwad and Samson with Dube in his company. The former smashed a knock of 38 runs in just 21 balls on his maiden innings in India colours, while Dube hit 22 in 16 to help Bumrah and Co. post a competitive total of 185/5.