"Mahi bhai is always keen on..": Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledges the impact of MS Dhoni

From the outset, the India vs Australia 5-match T20 series was touted as the perfect opportunity for the youngsters to make a mark in the international space and present their case in cementing the place. Four matches into the series and it turns out a new batting unit is ready to fire on all cylinders. Continuous cricket, whether it is in domestic leagues or at the IPL level has seemingly ingested a good mix of aggression in their play as well as game sense. Moreover, in the process, one of the stalwarts that always gets the deserved acknowledgement is none other than "Mahi Bhai", a.k.a. MS Dhoni.

3 things you need to know

• India beat Australia by 20 runs in the 4th T20I
• India take the invincible lead of 3-1 in the series
• Ruturaj Gaikwad is the leading run-scorer in the series

Also Read | India surpasses Pakistan's T20I win record

Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledges the impact of MS Dhoni

Following the culmination of the 4th T20 between India and Australia, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad spared a few minutes to express his thoughts on the way things transpired in the series. Gaikwad has been a constant performer at the top of the order and has been minting runs as an opener in the series. As a batsman, Gaikwad follows a typical approach of remaining cautious at the start but gets ready to pummel as soon as he gets his eye in. He bats as per the situation and acknowledges MS Dhoni's role in guiding him on how to assess the need of the hour.

"No, definitely. I would say I learned being in CSK because, you know, Mahi bhai is always keen on reading situations, you know, understanding the game, how the game will progress. And he is more or less sends a message where you have to look for a team score," he said on Jio Cinema on Friday.

"You know what the team requires at that certain stage, irrespective of where you are batting, Either you are batting on 15 or not out or you just started, what the team requires just in particular that over. So I think that has stayed with me. And I'm trying to continue that," Gaikwad added.

Also Read | IND beat AUS by 20 runs, seal five-match series

Ruturaj Gaikwad's phenomenal performance in the series

After getting out on a Diamond Duck in the first T20I of the series, Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn't looked back since and consistently performed. In the second T20, he scored a well-compiled 58 runs off 43 balls. In the third T20, he was there from start to finish and subsequently played an enormous knock of 123 off just 57 balls. The knock is the second biggest by an Indian batsman in T20s. In the 4th T20 as well he scored a gritty 32-run innings. Through these brilliant performances, he is at the top of the run-scoring chart of the series. The opener has so far accumulated 213 runs in four matches at an average of 71.