Chennai Super Kings Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad Reflects on Match-Winning Knock
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the young opener for the Chennai Super Kings, delivered a nostalgic and match-winning performance in their recent IPL encounter. During the post-match presentation, Gaikwad reminisced about his first half-century in the IPL, where he found himself in a similar situation alongside the legendary MS Dhoni.
“It was a bit nostalgic for me,” Gaikwad stated. “I remember my first fifty in the IPL, when Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) was with me, and we finished the match in the same situation.” He acknowledged the tricky nature of the wicket, describing it as a “150-160 wicket” where rotating the strike and finding boundaries was key, rather than a typical six-hitting pitch.
Gaikwad acknowledged the responsibility he felt due to Ajinkya Rahane slight injury, saying, “With Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) slightly injured, I felt it was my responsibility to stay till the end on a wicket which was slightly tricky.” He praised the team’s collective understanding, stating, “With this team, I don’t need to tell things to anyone. Everyone is in a great headspace.“
The opener also addressed his perceived slow start in the tournament, saying, “I wouldn’t say it was a slow start. In T20, there are times when you nick off or get those one-two balls. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to get going.” He added that he was able to take his time and let the experts discuss his strike rate after the game.
Gaikwad expressed gratitude for the presence of experienced figures like MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming, saying, “You have Mahi bhai still there, you have Fleming still there.” He concluded by emphasizing the importance of the win for the team.
With his composed and mature approach, Ruturaj Gaikwad played a pivotal role in securing victory for the Chennai Super Kings, showcasing his growth and maturity as a cricketer.
With People alleging to have a slow start in the IPL, especially with the loss in the previous game against SRH, where Gaikwad couldn’t perform well in the match, the young captain trying to fit in the shoes of the legendry captain MS Dhoni had huge pressure due to the loss of the previous two games. This win made him more confident that winning the game is not about having a huge strike rateΒ but in a slow pitch rotating the strike and hitting fours and not going for sixes would win the game.
blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>π‘ππͺπ¦ ππ₯π’π ππππ£ππ¨π π<br><br>The toss goes Rutu's way and Chennai Super Kings will be bowling first πͺ<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CSKvKKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CSKvKKR</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TATAIPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TATAIPL</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLonJioCinema?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#IPLonJioCinema</a> <a href=”https://t.co/y6gFoiZCgH”>pic.twitter.com/y6gFoiZCgH</a></p>— JioCinema (@JioCinema) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JioCinema/status/1777332318077673743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
After the toss, Gaikwad said “Good toss to win. It looks humid, expecting dew tonight, so we will bowl first. Hasn’t dented our confidence, we have lost by small margins. Everyone is confident in our group, but we have had forced changes. Definitely looking forward to getting a win in this game. They are playing a good brand of cricket, we want to keep things simple and want to focus on ourselves. Pathirana is not available, Mustafizur is back. Deepak has a niggle so he misses out, Shardul comes in and Rizvi comes back.”
