Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad opened up about his bad luck in tossing a coin before their match against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Ruturaj Gaikwad revealed that legendary wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni advised him to practice winning the toss before matches.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has lost the toss in eight out of nine matches during the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Gaikwad won the toss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Chepauk Stadium, where the Chennai-based team claimed a seven-wicket win last month.

The five-time IPL champion managed to claim five wins in nine matches, despite winning the toss only once. The Chennai franchise is currently at the fourth place in the points table with 10 points. They are tied with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) but have a better net run rate (NRR).

We were practicing coin tosses in the shelter – Ruturaj Gaikwad

In a conversation with Star Sports, Ruturaj Gaikwad recalled MS Dhoni’s advice on the importance of winning throws and humorously mentioned the practice of coin tossing in the dugout.

“Dhoni bhai said, ‘You can’t control the toss, but you have to win it, so practice it’. Since then we were practicing coin tosses on the bench,” Gaikwad said.

The Super Kings bounced back from back-to-back losses to the Lucknow Super Giants. CSK defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by 78 runs at home. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an impressive 98 runs off 54 balls as CSK posted a total of 212-3. Tushar Deshpande took four wickets to restrict Hyderabad to 134.

Chennai will take on Punjab Kings in their next match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, May 1. Looking at Ruturaj Gaikwad’s luck with the pitch and the dew factor, Chennai must aim for additional runs if they are asked to bat first.

Ruturaj Gaikwad will have heartache – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted Ruturaj Gaikwad’s exceptional batting form. Chopra mentioned that Gaikwad might be disappointed over his exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup squad.

“It is impossible to look beyond Ruturaj Gaikwad, considering the form he is in. He has almost scored back-to-back hundreds and failed to score a hundred in the second game, but he is playing extremely well. He is batting like pure desi ghee. He drives the ball very well and I feel like his heart hurts because they could have chosen him for the World Cup,” Chopra said.

“To be very honest, I proposed his name myself, but a spot couldn’t have been created. He might know that too. It definitely seems a bit unfair, but it could have only been three openers: Rohit (Sharma), (Virat). Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only left-hander,” he added.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in exceptional form in IPL 2024, amassing 447 runs in nine matches at a remarkable strike rate of 149.49. He is the second highest run-scorer of the tournament, only behind Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who has scored 500 runs this season.

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