Former England batter blames CSK Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's 'strange innings' for loss vs SRH

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) endured another massive loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side failed to defend 181 runs in their clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday, May 18 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The loss against SRH took a massive hit on CSK's hopes of reaching the playoffs.

Michael Vaughan blames Ruturaj Gaikwad's rusty knock vs SRH

Batting first, CSK managed to post only 180 runs with Dewald Brevis being the top scorer with 44 runs off 27 balls, including two fours and four sixes. Opener Sanju Samson and Kartik Sharma got off to a flying start with impactful knocks of 27 off 13 and 32 off 19 respectively. Meanwhile, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to create an impact with the bat, as he scored only 15 runs off 21 balls, without hitting any boundary.

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After the game, former England batter Michael Vaughan has blamed Ruturaj Gaikwad for CSK's struggle in the ongoing season, saying the right-handed batter's horrible knock of 15 runs put CSK on the back seat in the game against SRH.

"I don't want to point the finger at him, but I will. That knock has cost them the game. If he had scored 25 off 21, it would have been 10 more to the total and a lot harder to chase for SRH," said Vaughan to Cricbuzz.

The former England batter believes CSK should have got at least 15 more runs to give a better competition to SRH. Vaughan has called Ruturaj's struggling knock a "strange inning" as he wasted a total of 3.3 overs without hitting a single boundary.

"It's with the bat that they should have got 15 more runs. The way Gaikwad batted, that was a strange innings. It's 3.3 overs that have gone for 15 from him," added Vaughan.

Are CSK alive in playoffs race?

Despite the five-wicket defeat, CSK are alive in the playoffs race. Their next match is against Gujarat Titans (GT) away from home on May 21. In order to make it to the playoffs, they would not only have to win against GT but hope that other games go in their favour as well. Even if they beat GT, they can face competition for the fourth playoffs spot from Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and even Delhi Capitals (DC).