Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has impressed everyone with his slow but valuable innings when there was nothing to help take his team to a respectable total against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2026 clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium was slow and tricky and the Gujarat Titans fast bowlers made the most of the conditions to silence the crowd and put the Chennai Super Kings under immense pressure in the IPL 2026 clash on Saturday, April 26.
Ruturaj Gaikwad stands tall as GT bowlers destroy CSK top order in IPL 2026 clash
GT captain Shubman Gill won the toss and asked CSK to bat first on the hard Chepauk surface. If Ruturaj Gaikwad had won the toss, they could have been in a better position. Well, the five-time IPL champions got off to a nightmare start as Sanju Samson got out for 11 runs after edged a ball from Kagiso Rabada, which was safely caught by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
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Soon after, Urvil Patel was dismissed for just 4 runs, and Sarfaraz Khan followed him with a duck after reaching Mohammed Siraj. The collapse spread further when Dewald Brevis also failed to make an impact and exited for just 2 runs. CSK found themselves in deep trouble at 37 for 4.
In the power play, they managed only 28 runs. Amidst all this chaos, Ruturaj Gaikwad stood calmly at one end. He led the team perfectly as captain, concentrating on staying in the box and building the tackles slowly. By the 10th over, he had only 18 runs off 26 balls, but his main job was to keep the innings together.
Lone warrior Ruturaj Gaikwad takes CSK to 158/7 against GT
After that, it slowly began to gain momentum. The right-handed batsman added an important 59-run partnership with Shivam Dube (22) to give some hope to the bowlers. Gaikwad completed his fifty in 49 balls, which was his first half-century of the ongoing IPL 2026.
During his innings, he also achieved a special milestone by becoming the fourth CSK player to hit 100 sixes in the IPL, joining MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina on the elite list. Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 75 runs off 60 balls. Against GT he scored 6 fours and 4 sixes.
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Despite not getting any support from anyone except Dube, Gaikwad took CSK to a respectable total of 158/7 on the board in 20 overs, which seemed difficult at one point, single-handedly. He fought alone and took the responsibility of saving his team from embarrassment.
This is how fans react to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s slow knock in Chennai:
Ruturaj Gaikwad 74 (60) 💛
Not all innings are about strike rate… some are about holding the game together under pressure.
When wickets fell and momentum faded, Ruturaj stayed calm, absorbed the pressure and gave his team something to fight with.#CSKvsGT… pic.twitter.com/UgJouuFGm2
– CricLive (@CricLive_IND) April 26, 2026
CSK captain leaves the ball in the finals, I have seen this movie before#CSKvsGT #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/O5WJTHOj3T
– Suresh N (@TheDugoutStats) April 26, 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad played a captain’s knock of 74* out of 60. GT needs 159 runs to win… #cskvsgt #gtvscsk #chennaisuperkings #ipl pic.twitter.com/9xKZrdeCeh
– Jbccricket (@jbccricket) April 26, 2026
Well played Rutu 💛 #CSKvsGT pic.twitter.com/PZoyTkzgE9
— Danish Kumar (@daanish_25) April 26, 2026
Strong blow from the Captain! 🫡 The field is a minefield, but Rutu is digging deep. Without Brevis, it’s all about staying until the end and finding that great ending. 🏏🔥
Difficult conditions, but the skipper knows the way! #CSKvGT #IPL2026 #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/kWOOfET2yE
— WorldTESTCricketHQ (@WorldCricketMW) April 26, 2026
CSK current situation #CSKvGT #CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad pic.twitter.com/flF0s44MTR
– Mr. Hudali (@mr_hudali) April 26, 2026
When it comes to Virat Kohli: selfish innings
When is Ruturaj Gaikwad: perfect anchor 🤡#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/lI8bkt4CSF— ＭＡＨＥ ✓✔Ｈ (@Armahi_) April 26, 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 74*(60)
Brave strike when it mattered most. I take my hat off to you, my captain! 💛#RuturajGaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26
– Big Boss (@BIGG_BOSS_GK) April 26, 2026
Captain well played🥹👍
You have shown patience and discipline with this entry. #ruturajgaikwad #ipl pic.twitter.com/Rp7y0Whgr4
– Mukesh Kariyare (@mukesh_kariyare) April 26, 2026
RUTURAJ from 20*(37) TO 74*(60)!!
When everyone failed He was there until the end!
Regardless of the outcome in the end…
Captain leads from the front to make it bearable at least!Thank you Ruturaj 💛#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad https://t.co/NiJfl0yF04
—Aparna (@Aparna45056805) April 26, 2026
The best entry accelerator for a reason… A very mature entry from skip, he delivered when he needed it most🔥🔥🔥 #cskvsgt #ruturajgaikwad #ipl #csk #sarfaraz #jamie
—msm (@1708msm) April 26, 2026
Control the strike rate all you want: Ruturaj Gaikwad read the situation, not the gallery. Cricket is not always about speed, sometimes it is about control.#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/reNRVFsEDP
– Harshit goyal (@HarshitGeo) April 26, 2026
Shocked to see some fans and critics criticizing Ruturaj’s knock… I mean, is it wrong for all of you?!
Should I have accelerated faster? Are you kidding me???
He saved us from an embarrassing total of 70-80 and gave us a great 158 on cards. Be grateful.#RuturajGaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26-KAIY (@KAIY37) April 26, 2026