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Robin Uthappa repaid the trust entrusted on him by skipper MS Dhoni and the franchise in the first Qualifier on Sunday to take CSK to another Indian Premier League final. After two dry spell in the season, Uthappa made his selection for the Qualifiers count with his blistering 63 off 44, the knock that helped CSK seal the deal against the Delhi Capitals (DC).
After losing Faf du Plessis in the first over, it was the opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa that stitched an innings of 110 runs to set the platform for CSK’s win.
Post the match, the right-handed batter expressed his satisfaction for playing with the ‘most secure’ franchise. Uthappa had previously played for Gautam Gambhir’s led Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014-2019.
“I always maintain that CSK has been one of the most secure franchises going around, and they believe in making everyone feel secure within the group, and I think that only makes a player give that much more to the franchise. After KKR, when Gautam was the captain, I really enjoyed myself there and felt secure in that group, but after that this is the most secure I’ve felt while cricketing in a while,” Uthappa said post CSK’s 4 wicket win over DC.
Uthappa, who last scored a fifty in 2019 with KKR, talked about the mental challenges and how he overcame the self-doubts after sitting out for 12 games this season, before being asked to play his third game for the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday against DC.
“There were days when there were doubts, to be honest; when you don’t get to play, these doubts tend to creep in. You also listen to a lot of chatters that are going outside, and I try to make sure I shut myself from the outside world. I just stuck to that and I just felt that at some point I would be able to contribute to the team in a really meaningful way and I’m really grateful to God that I have been able to do that today,” Uthappa added.
The opener dedicated his knock to his son, who celebrated his 4th birthday on Sunday.
“Happy that I was able to contribute. Today is my son’s fourth birthday and this one’s for him. It was the first over when I went out to bat. We knew we needed a good start, so I just tried to reach to the ball and play according to the merit.”
