WATCH: Jitesh Sharma takes blinder of a catch to dismiss Ruturaj Gaikwad during Vijay Hazare Trophy

Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his poor form with the bat during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024. The 27-year-old scored just seven runs during the second semi-finals of the tournament against Vidarbha on Thursday. The incident happened in the third ball of the third over with Darshan Nalkande bowling. 

Nalkande beat Ruturaj Gaikwad for pace as the Chennai Super Kings went to pull the ball. Gaikwad didn’t time the ball well as the ball went soaring into the night skies. Veteran wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma made good ground as he leapt forward to take the catch. Vidarbha players were over the moon at the capture of such a huge wicket. 

What. A. Catch 😮

Jitesh Sharma pulls off a blinder 🔥#VijayHazareTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/AW5jmfoiE1pic.twitter.com/Ut1wAvxnoD

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 16, 2025

Earlier in the day, Vidarbha amassed a massive score of 380/3 from their fifty overs. Dhurv Shorey (114) and Yash Rathod (101) scored centuries to give the team a great platform. Skipper Karun Nair then scored 88 runs from 44 balls and stayed unbeaten to take his tournament average to a whopping 752 runs. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s struggles with the bat continue 

27-year-old batter Ruturaj Gaikwad wasn’t considered by the selectors for the five-match T20I series against England. This move didn’t sit well with loads of fans, as Gaikwad is considered one of the best batters in India currently. The batter began the Vijay Hazare Trophy with just a single run against Rajasthan. 

This was followed by 148 not out against Services, followed by 8 runs against Himachal Pradesh. Gaikwad didn’t bat in two games against Meghalaya and Sikkim, and his next three innings also dished out low scores. The right-handed batter scored 12 and 13 against Andhra Pradesh and Railways respectively. This was followed by his innings of five runs against Punjab before falling to Arshdeep Singh. 

With his score of seven on Thursday, Gaikwad has taken his series tally to 194 runs. His average reads a lowly 32 runs from six innings with one century. If we remove his 148 not out against Services, Gaikwad has scored 46 runs from five innings with an average of 9.2. His woeful form has all but put an end to his hopes of making it to the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tournament next month.