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Ruturaj Gaikwad and wife Utkarsha Pawar attended Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid. City lost 2-3 in an entertaining game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad with his wife (L, ruutu.131/Instagram) , Erling Haaland (AP Photo).
Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad and his wife, Utkarsha Pawar, were seated in the Manchester City home end for their UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. This was the first leg of the knockout clash to determine which team will move to the Round Of 16.
In a photo shared by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain on his Instagram story, Gaikwad was seen sporting a City sky blue scarf with Erlin Haaland’s name and caricature on it. Check the story here.
City lost the tie 2-3 but not before a typically entertaining 90 minutes where Haaland scored the opener and a brilliant penalty. Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe scored the first equalizer in the 60th minute. Former City academy player Brahim Diaz netted the second equalizer after Haaland’s penalty in the 86th minute.
Still, the game remained end-to-end and a winner came as expected in extra time, through a clinical Jude Bellingham finish after a lovely Vinicius Junior lobbed through pass from a blazing counter. With the first leg sealed, City will have to win the next leg, in Spain, by at least two goals to move into the Round Of 16.
As for Gaikwad, he’ll be next seen in action in IPL 2025, captaining CSK. He has been out of favor of the international teams in all three formats against heavy competition from the likes of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. He had a slightly underwhelming domestic season, too, which hasn’t helped his chances to return to the Indian team.
However, his performances for CSK in recent years have been nothing short of brilliant, consistently putting him in contention for the national teams and he’d hope for the same this year. The franchise has also been able to build a competitive squad through some smart signings in the 2025 auction.
Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2025: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed, MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, R. Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran. Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Noor Ahmad and Shreyas Gopal.
