Ruturaj Gaikwad described how the CSK team defeated PBKS and advanced to the IPL 2024 Playoffs despite facing illness and injury concerns. Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana were lost for the Chennai team before the final match due to a serious fitness issue. As a captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad was perplexed by his team’s lineups until the next morning.
Ruturaj stated that they were relieved as they were not sure who would be playing the match, but CSK overcame these problems to defeat Punjab by 28 runs. Pathirana is also expected to return to Sri Lanka to continue his rehabilitation.
Ruturaj felt that CSK was tempted to use an Impact batter rather than Simarjeet because they were having a lot of trouble with the bat. Nevertheless, they would decide to use Simarjeet, who was bowling quickly and had taken two wickets.
After being put to bat, CSK managed to score 167 runs for 9 wickets in their 20 overs. The CSK bowlers then showed their accuracy when Deshpande dismissed Bairstow and Rossouw in his opening over. Jadeja and additional players contributed wickets, causing the PBKS innings to end at 137 for 9.
Ruturaj Gaikwad appreciates his team’s efforts after facing two scenarios during a single game.
In the post-match presentation, Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad discussed the wicket and its slowness, saying that the batting was still far below par. However, he acknowledged that the bowlers’ efforts seemed to be appreciated and that Simranjeet Pace had a significant influence on Ruturaj’s thinking. In his closing remarks, however, he raised concerns again, saying that it is very difficult to decide on the combination until the morning because the players are fighting flu, but that victory from this point on makes us happy and relaxed.
“Everyone believed the wicket was slow. Even low bounce,” the captain said.
“Just that the start we got, we were thinking of pushing till 180-200. After losing wickets, thought 160-170 was a good score,” he added.
“Don’t know what he’s doing, but even in preseason, he was clicking 150kph. He didn’t get too many chances, but it’s never too late,” Gaikwad said.
“We were thinking of going with an impact batter, but then we thought the batter would give 10-15 runs, but he could give 2-3 wickets,” he explained.
“Some of the guys were struggling with flu. We weren’t even sure till the morning who was playing or not. To get the win, really happy with that,” he added.
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