Was never thinking about century; wanted us to get 220: Gaikwad

With just four overs left in the innings, Ruturaj Gaikwad was comfortably placed on 89, with a rare century just around the corner. It seemed like Gaikwad would score back-to-back centuries, but that thought vanished quickly when the 27-year-old was struggling to get back to strike, with Shivam Dube hitting it big. 

Eventually, that played a role in the Chennai Super Kings’ skipper Gaikwad, who holed out two short of getting to a consecutive ton, a feat that not a lot of cricketers can proudly claim. But in the post-match presentation, Gaikwad insisted that he never ‘cared’ about the ton, and his only goal was to take CSK to a score of 220, considering the heavy dew. 

“I was never even thinking about the hundred. I was just trying to make sure we get to 220 or whatever extra runs possible. Even in the last game I wasn't thinking about the hundred. I was upset I missed a few shots. At the innings break I thought it would cost us. But in the end it worked out,” Gaikwad reflected on his missed century in the post-match presentation. 

While dew did play a part, CSK’s bowling unit showed great resilience to pull things back early against a rampant Sunrisers Hyderabad outfit. Usually a top-order dominated setup, Tushar Deshpande’s thunderous spell upset the SRH top-order. The Mumbaikar picked up three wickets in just two overs, to turn the tide in CSK’s favour. 

"Feeling pretty good. It's really tough to play in such wet conditions and to win by 78 runs was a very clinical performance. Great win for us. Last game we made some errors, some loose balls here and there, not really up to the mark in the field,” he added. 

“Today we came up with plans, stuck to them and we were excellent in the field. With the impact rule you never know the par score, you always want an extra 10-20 runs,” Gaikwad said. 

Rightfully, the Mumbai pacer ended up with figures of 4/27, a spell that broke the back of the SRH run chase. Normally, skippers turn their attention towards the top performer, but Gaikwad reserved special praise for the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who, despite the dew, bowled a stellar spell, conceding just 22 runs in his four overs. 

“One area where we lost momentum in a few games was not getting wickets in the powerplay. It is the only way we can put the opposition on the back foot. Deshpande bowled really well. His hard work is paying off. Special mention to Jaddu as well,” he stated. 

“In these wet conditions, four overs 20-25 runs, for me that was a match-turning spell. I'm not very vocal. Everyone is very experienced in the dressing room and you can't just go up to seniors and tell them what to do. So I just take a back seat."

On the other hand, losing skipper Pat Cummins was disappointed with the run-chase, stating that they had a really good chance against the Super Kings, considering the wicket. However, he did not backtrack on his decision to bowl first, stating that it gave them the best opportunity to best a home-dominating CSK side. 

"We thought chasing was our best chance to win but unfortunately it didn't come off tonight. I thought they obviously batted well but with out batting lineup, wicket was playing pretty well, so I thought we had a good chance. I think we are pretty happy with how the batting lineup is going,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation. 

The win has now put impetus back in CSK’s season, with them leapfrogging their opponents, Sunrisers Hyderabad, to third in the points table. However, they would be careful not to be too complacent against Punjab Kings, a side that broke CSK’s dominance at home last year. 

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