In the 68th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024), Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. , May 18.
By opting to bowl first in the match, Chennai Super Kings did a poor job and ended up conceding 218 runs. Apart from Mitchell Santner and Maheesh Theekshana, all players gave away runs with an economy of over 12. Shardul Thakur picked up two wickets in the innings, while Tushar Deshpande and Santner picked up one wicket each.
Chasing the target, Rachin Ravindra held the fort and played an impressive knock of 61 runs before running out. Other batsmen did not support him very well but Ravindra Jadeja played a sensational knock of 42 runs to keep CSK in the game. In the end, CSK needed 17 runs off the last 6 balls to qualify for the playoffs and failed to do so. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team was restricted to 191/7, lost the match by 27 runs and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Speaking after the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad said that a total of 200 could be scored but they lost wickets at regular intervals which made things difficult for them. Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
“I think it was a good wicket, to be honest, it turned and grabbed a bit, but I think 200 on this wicket was achievable. We kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it was a matter of one or two hits. Sometimes that can happen in a T20 game. I am quite happy with the target. To sum up the season, I am very happy that we won seven out of 14 games. I just couldn’t cross the line in the last two balls.
Speaking about Chennai Super Kings’ journey to IPL 2024, Ruturaj Gaikwad said that injuries troubled them a lot and were the main reason for their failure. He elaborated:
“With the kind of injuries we had, missing two top players, not having Conway at the top of the order as well, I think missing three key players made a big difference. Credit to the CSK staff and everyone who put in It was a great show for us throughout the season. There were a lot of challenges for us during the first game. Fizz (Mustafiur’s injury), then Pathirana’s injury too, he came back and again Pathirana was missing. We have to get that balance in. the team and choose it (the team) for each match.
“I think this season sums up well what we had to do with our playing XI, also considering the injuries and all the illnesses (of the players). Happy with the seven victories, although I couldn’t cross the line. Happy “With that we got “10 off the last 2 balls in our last knockout match last year, so this was a similar situation, although things didn’t go our way (this season).”
Ruturaj Gaikwad finally said that personal milestones do not matter to him as the ultimate goal is team victory. Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
“For me, personal milestones don’t matter much, after all, the ultimate goal is to win. If you don’t get it, it’s a disappointment. It doesn’t matter if you score 100 runs or 500-600 runs in a season. I’m disappointed.”
Chennai Super Kings had crushed Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the previous meeting of IPL 2024
Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru had played in the first match of the Indian Premier League 2024 on March 22 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai. The home team easily crushed the visitors in their stronghold and recorded a comprehensive 6-wicket victory.
Batting first in the match, the stellar opening duo of Virat Kohli (21) and Faf du Plessis (35) failed to build a great partnership together and RCB sank further after Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell bagged golden ducks. When the chips were down, veteran batsman Dinesh Karthik (38) came to the forefront and joined forces with Anuj Rawat (48) to take RCB to a good total of 173/6. For CSK, Mustafizur Rahman shone in the innings with his 4-wicket haul, while Deepak Chahar picked up one wicket.
Chasing the target, Rachin Ravindra (37) showed a batting masterclass and made quick runs but his partner Ruturaj Gaikwad (15) could not score much. After the starters were sent off, CSK’s middle team did a great job and was never under any kind of pressure. Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja did a brilliant job and completed the chase in 18.4 overs.
