''He is a smart cricketer''- Virender Sehwag on Ruturaj Gaikwad

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has termed young Chennai Super Kings batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad a "smart cricketer."

Sehwag made his comment during the mid-innings show on CricBuzz live after Gaikwad smashed a classy 58-ball 88* in the opening game of the second phase of IPL 2021 against defending champions Mumbai Indians.

Hailing Gaikwad's knock as a combination of responsible batting and smartly calculated assault, Sehwag said:

'He is the kind of player who plays classical strokes, he doesn't play risky strokes. He played with responsibility and his assault was smartly calculated,"

Gaikwad's knock came at a time when CSK were reduced to 24/4 in the first powerplay courtesy of a relentless pace onslaught by the New Zealand seam-bowling duo of Trent Boult and Adam Milne.

You can check out the IPL 2021 orange cap winners here.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's smart assault propelled CSK to 156/6

Sehwag further added that playing risk-free shots allowed Ruturaj to maintain his consistency.

"If you play risk free shots then it helps you maintain your consistency. That's probably why I enjoyed watching his innings because he is a smart cricketer"

Gaikwad has perennially been a slow starter in the IPL but on Sunday, the right-hander didn’t look rusty in the opening game against the defending champions as he launched a stunning display of stroke play across all corners of the Dubai International Stadium.

He did get a lucky reprieve at the score of 19 when Quinton de Kock dropped a simple catch off the bowling of Rahul Chahar. The young opener proceeded to cash-in big time as he greeted one and all with some gorgeous strokes.

Inside-out cover-drives, slog sweeps against both pacers and spinners, straight-drives, square-cuts and lofted drives over the bowler’s head, Gaikwad’s innings had it all.

The right-hander smashed his fourth consecutive half-century in the UAE and his unbeaten 88 and a brisk cameo from Dwayne Bravo [23 off 8 balls] lifted CSK to 156.

Gaikwad's knock proved to be a match-winning one as an all-round skilled bowling display by CSK ensured that MI fell way short of their target of 15