India vs South Africa: Ruturaj Gaikwad smashes Anrich Nortje for five consecutive fours in third T20I

Ruturaj Gaikwad was in fine form on Tuesday during the third T20I between India and South Africa at Visakhapatnam, slamming 57 off 35 balls. His knock coupled with Ishan Kishan’s 54 led India to 179/5 from 20 overs after being put to bat by the Proteas. Gaikwad and Kishan forged a 97-run stand for the first wicket before the former got out in the 10th over. Gaikwad slammed seven fours and two sixes, and five of those fours came in the fifth over off Anrich Nortje, which came in consecutive fashion. In the first ball of the fourth over, Nortje started off with a short and wide one and Gaikwad stood tall on the back foot and cut it square for a boundary. On the second ball, Gaikwad charged down the track to loft Nortje over and wide of mid-on to clear the fence again. On the third ball, there was a nasty bounce and movement off the pitch, and got Gaikwad’s glove and helmet. Short ball outside off, it took the grille of Gaikwad’s helmet right in front of the batter’s face, and the ball raced away to the third man fence. On the fourth ball, Nortje unleashed a pretty good bouncer on the pads, and a flick from Gaikwad eventually beat Kagiso Rabada. That was now 16 runs off four balls. On the fifth ball, Gaikwad made room for himself and steered the ball late, opening the face of the bat to lead through Tabraiz Shamsi at short third man. India are aiming to avoid a series defeat after conceding the first two matches, which South Africa won by seven and four wickets respectively.