After the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 5 (Friday), captain Ruturaj Gaikwad switched focus to the three mistakes committed by his team. The defending champions CSK were comprehensively beaten by six wickets and 11 balls to spare and Yellow Army lost their second successive match of the season.
Batting first, CSK posted a score of 165/5 in 20 overs. The Yellow Army blew a solid platform laid by the top-order batters as the lower-order willow-wielders struggled for timing on a slow track. The Sunrisers bowlers bowled superbly and used their variations to stifle CSK batters.
Ruturaj on CSK's performance
Reflecting on the match, CSK skipper Gaikwad opined that his team should have scored at least 10 more runs while also underlining the poor performance of the bowlers during the powerplay. The CSK captain also revealed that dew only made things difficult for them in the second innings.
"It was a slow pitch. At the back end they bowled well. We couldn't capitalise in the last five overs. We were in a good situation halfway but they bowled well at the back. Black soil pitch, so we expected the slowness," Gaikwad told the broadcaster after the game, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"As the ball got older, it got slower. They used the conditions well - big boundary one end. We did not bowl well in the powerplay but did well to drag the game. 170-175 is par, if we would have had a good powerplay with the ball, we could have had the game. There was slight dew at the later stage. Moeen was spinning the ball in the 15th-16th over, so not much of a difference,' he added.
With two wins in four matches, Chennai Super Kings are third on the points table after their defeat against the Sunrisers.
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