Faced 10-12 balls of Pathirana and did not want to face him: Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings recorded a comprehensive six-wicket win against Mumbai Indians in the afternoon encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 6 to consolidate their second spot in the points table. 

After opting to field first, Chennai rattled the new-look opening combination of Cameron Green and Ishan Kishan were dismissed in the first three overs. 

While Green was cleaned bowled by Tushar Deshpande, the southpaw was dismissed by Deepak Chahar, who returned to the playing XI after recovering from a hamstring injury. 

Mumbai were jolted further as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a three-ball duck, and the visiting side were reeling at 14 for the loss of three wickets. 

Coming in at number four, Nehal Wadhera consolidated the innings along with Suryakumar Yadav and Tristan Stubbs. The southpaw smashed 64 off 51 deliveries with eight boundaries and one massive six to help Mumbai crawl their way to a modest first-innings total of 139 runs. 

"While we were batting, it was difficult to hit the pacers because the ball was not coming onto the bat properly. With the new ball, Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande bowled two slower balls that did not come properly, and we fell short by 15-20 runs,"fspi Wadhera said in the post-match press conference. 

Mumbai were at the receiving end of some brilliant bowling in the back end of the innings, courtesy of Matheesha Pathirana's sublime spell of 3/15 in four overs. 

Explaining the difficulty in facing a bowler with an uncanny action, the southpaw said, "This is the first time I'm facing a bowler who bowls from such a wide angle. It was kind of difficult to pick."

"Early on, he bowled one bouncer to me, and I couldn't see the ball properly because when he bowled, the angle was even lower than I expected," he further added. 

In pursuit of 140 runs, the opening combination of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway laid a 46-run stand in four overs to get the team off to a flying start.

The right-handed batter was aggressive among the two and smashed a 16-ball 30 to give the home team a perfect foundation in the powerplay. The 26-year-old credited Chennai's complete team performance to get the better of Mumbai Indians for the second time this season. 

"If you talk about today's game, I think it was a complete team performance. I don't think there were areas to improve as each one contributed. Even in the bowling unit and the fielding unit, we were 100 percent."

"Overall, the fielding was good. In bowling, right from the first ball, we were up to the mark, and even batting also we were up there. Today's game was a complete performance," Gaikwad said in the post-match press conference. 

The 26-year-old also hailed Pathirana's spell in the first innings and heaped praises on the youngster for his accuracy and consistency despite the slingy action. 

"I only faced 10-12 balls of him in the nets, and I didn't want to face him. It is tough to pick and judge the length of the ball. First thing, you're finding where the ball is, or where it is coming from. The second thing is judging the length and the lines. You're always slightly late while facing him. Thankfully, he is in our team," he said. 

Gaikwad also shared insights on the preparation by the Super Kings prior to the season and the conversations with the team management that helps Chennai perform consistently in the tournament. 

"Behind the scenes, the work starts right from the pre-season camp. Not many international cricketers join because of their international duties, so the domestic players are available to join, and the work starts from there."

"Everyone gets an opportunity to express themselves, to discuss with various coaches and the skipper. It does help a lot as a player when there are few people around who feed a lot of confidence and positivity in you," he concluded. 

MS Dhoni-led side will face Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, May 10, while Mumbai Indians will travel to Wankhede Stadium for their reverse fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 9.