Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) started their campaign on a high with consecutive two wins but dramatically lost their next two matches. CSK are all set to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next match at Chepauk on April 8. Before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, MS Dhoni stepped down and handed the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ruturaj Gaikwad is known for his consistency in the batting but this season hasn't seen the best of him as yet as he failed to make an impact with his bat. Meanwhile, right ahead of the clash against KKR, CSK bowling coach Eric Simmons has backed Super Kings captain amid his batting struggles.
CSK in their last two matches lost to Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). These two losses snapped their winning streak. In the match against DC, CSK failed to chase the target of 192 and Rishabh Pant's men won the match by 20 runs. Meanwhile in the clash against SRH, CSK, batting first, posted only 165 and Pat Cummins' brigade won the match by six wickets. On both occasions, the CSK openers failed to provide them a good start in the powerplay.
Simmons identifies Ruturaj as a ‘quality cricketer’, however he admitted that it has not worked out for them and he further advised him to play risk-free cricket. Simmons backed Ruturaj as a captain and made it clear that he is focused on what he wanted to do.
CSK not concerned about Ruturaj Gaikwad's flop show
"There's no overly concerned nature about what's going on. He's a quality cricketer. It hasn't worked out, but that's the nature of high-octane cricket. You have to go out there and play with confidence. You have to go out and play with a degree of risk-taking. And it will come. He's that kind of person. He's been really calm and focused on what he wants to do in this matter,” Simmons said ahead of CSK versus KKR clash.
However, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has scored only 88 runs from four matches with a strike rate of 118.92 and has not made a single fifty so far. Last season, Ruturaj had a great outing as an opener with Devon Conway and this season he is opening with Rachin Ravindra. In 2023, Ruturaj scored 590 runs from 16 matches, and in 2021 he won the orange cap and played a crucial role in helping the team to win the tournament.
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'I think that relationship is still being built'
Eric Simmons while speaking on the CSK openers Ruturaj and Rachin, said it will take time for both the openers to build a relationship like Ruturaj and Conway. He further pointed out the partnership that Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad had in their batting was built after some time.
“I mean we had two really good starts in terms of the first two games and then perhaps not as good as we were in the next two. So again, it's the nature of the game that we faced but I still think that we got two that complement each other well. It's also that sort of, you build that relationship over time, they only batted together four times,” Simmons added.
“Someone like Devon Conway and Ruturaj, they took a while to build that relationship. Once they got it, it was important, and it flew very well. They trusted and knew each other. So, I think that relationship is still being built,” he concluded.
After winning the first two matches at their home ground in Chennai. CSK are back to their fortress and would want to revive their campaign with a win in front of the home crowd. CSK will lock horns with the KKR who have been unbeaten in the season so far. KKR would want to retain first position in the IPL 2024's points table. KKR is currently in the second spot while CSK are placed fourth.
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