Ruturaj Gaikwad during the post-match presentation ceremony©
Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad believes their struggle to score runs in the opening overs proved to be the difference during their 20-run defeat against Delhi Capitals. After faltering in the powerplay, MS Dhoni went on a rampage and produced some classic vintage strokes in the final over, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Apart from Dhoni’s brilliance, CSK batters struggled to make their mark in the powerplay. A scintillating spell from Khallel Ahmed turned the story in DC’s favour. While Mukesh Kumar stole the show by picking up wickets at key moments in the match.
Talking about CSK’s initial struggles after the match, Gaikwad said, “I was quite happy with the way they (bowlers) came back after the start (powerplay). Restricting them to 191 was a good effort. The pitch was on the better side. side in the first innings. In the second innings there was extra seam movement and spongy bounce. I felt he (Rachin) missed it by a big margin. We couldn’t get going in the first three overs and that was the difference.’
CSK slowly crawled back into the match, with Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell’s 68-run stand. However, Mukesh stood out for DC with his remarkable spell and ensured that CSK stayed behind the required rate.
“It was doable at the halfway point. There was extra seam movement and we couldn’t capitalize and we were always behind. We couldn’t get the run rate down,” Gaikwad added.
Coming into the clash, while chasing a huge total of 192, after faltering in the powerplay, CSK got back into the match with the help of Rahane and Mitchell’s stand.
With 72 runs needed in the last four overs, MS Dhoni went on a rampage and produced some classic vintage hitting in the final over, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
However, his effortless strokeplay was not enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat and ensure CSK remained unbeaten.
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