Key sentence:
- The 23-year-old from Pune was one of the young people who had been criticized by MS Dhoni the previous week on the Chennai Super Kings roster.
- Thanks to his fielding efforts that included two catches.
- Suresh Raina is coming back home for personal reasons.
- CSK bowlers did well to limit RCB to 145 for six while the batsmen chased down the mark.
- Dhoni called it a great game, Kohli was dismissive of the execution of his bowlers.
When your skipper pans you in public for not showing enough “spark,” it is not easy. Ask Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 23-year-old from Pune was one of the young people who had been criticized by MS Dhoni the previous week on the Chennai Super Kings roster.
We may not have seen as much spark from some of our youngsters. Maybe, moving forward, we’ll bring them in, and they’ll play without pressure,’ said Dhoni.
Gaikwad did what Dhoni wants of the youngsters against the high-flying Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
Thanks to his fielding efforts that included two catches, he wheeled out with faith, played without pressure, and ended the innings with a six to play a leading role in CSK’s eight-wicket IPL victory over RCB in Dubai.
It leaves them in the search for a play-off spot mathematically, while the odds look slender.
Gaikwad was expected to make it to the starting XI, particularly with Suresh Raina coming back home for personal reasons, after sitting out the last season, but he tested positive for Covid-19 together with pacer Deepak Chahar before IPL began and took longer to recover.
Lack of preparation in early games combined with nerves saw him dismissed on debut for a golden duck against Rajasthan Royals. He was run out within the next innings against Delhi Capitals after a mix-up with Faf du Plessis.
That resulted in him being benched in the last match before returning against Mumbai Indians where Trent Boult’s guile was too much for him as he perished for yet another duck.
He was cautious against RCB and played some crisp shots that also won Sunil Gavaskar’s praise, doing commentary on TV. As he stays unbeaten on 65 out of 51 balls, riddled with three sixes and four fours, the strategy gave him success.
He was engaged invaluable partnerships on the way, beginning with Du Plessis’s 46-run opening wicket stand (25), then Ambati Rayudu’s 67-run stand (39), which effectively sealed the match for CSK. With skipper Dhoni (19 *), he eventually brought the team around.
CSK bowlers did well to limit RCB to 145 for six while the batsmen chased down the mark. Similar to what they are used to in Chennai, they have now found circumstances adapted for them.
They never gave any pace for batsmen to capitalize on, thrown stump-to-stump, and forced RCB struggle for runs, from seamers to pacers.
Even the likes of Virat Kohli (50) & AB de Villiers (39) found it difficult to reach boundaries, yet they only wound up holing out deep as they attempted to press on in the death overs.
Dhoni called it a great game, Kohli was dismissive of the execution of his bowlers, but Gaikwad, one of the CSK young people who eventually showed some “glimmer,” would be the day below..
