Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad reflected on his team's 20-run defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2024 match played in Vizag. He pinpointed their inability to capitalise during the powerplay with the bat as a key factor in the loss. This marks CSK's first loss of the season after two convincing victories. Their overall performance, both in batting and bowling, fell short of expectations at crucial moments despite MS Dhoni's late heroics. Defending a target of 192, Chennai faced early pressure as the DC openers David Warner (52) and Prithvi Shaw (43), stitched together a strong 91-run partnership. While CSK managed to take some quick wickets to claw their way back into the game, Rishabh Pant's crucial fifty (51) ensured Delhi posted a formidable total. Chasing a demanding target, CSK's batting also faltered. Early dismissals of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra set them back. Although Ajinkya Rahane (45) and Daryl Mitchell (34) tried to steady the ship, their dismissals left the team in a precarious position. MS Dhoni (37*) and Ravindra Jadeja (21*) made a late push, but ultimately, the target proved too much as CSK could only manage 171 runs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals reason behind CSK's defeat
While acknowledging his team's decent bowling performance in the post match presentation, Gaikwad pointed out the challenges faced by CSK batter. He explained that the extra seam movement and a bounce early on made run-scoring difficult. He further admitted that their inability to capitalise with a big over during that period ultimately proved costly.
“I think I was pretty much happy with the way they (bowlers) came back after the start (powerplay). Restricting them to 191 was a good effort. The pitch was on the better side in the first innings. Second innings there was extra seam movement and spongy bounce. I felt he (Rachin) was missing it by a big margin. We couldn’t get going in the first three overs and that was the difference. At the halfway stage it was getable. There was extra seam movement and we couldn’t capitalize and we were always behind. We didn’t get the big over to reduce the run rate,” Gaikwas said in the post-match presentation.
Downplaying suggestions of including an extra fast bowler, Gaikwad expressed confidence in Deepak Chahar's abilities. He acknowledged that the loss was a close one with just minor shortcomings, and emphasised there's no need for concern.
“Not really (if an extra bowler in the lineup with help in powerplay). Deepak is always used to bowling 3 overs. Even though the first four overs were good, the last two overs were expensive. After two good games, you can expect the third game to go below par and that’s nothing to worry about. Just two or three hits here and there, in the field, if we had stopped one or two boundaries it could have been different,” Gaikwad concluded.
After this defeat, CSK have slipped to second spot in the points table with four points in three matches, pipped by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). CSK will next face SRH on April 5.
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