IPL 2024: Pitch Was Slow, I Thought 170 Would Be a Good Total – Ruturaj Gaikwad

IPL 2024: CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad defended his team's batting approach, stating the pitch in Hyderabad was slow.

IPL 2024: CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad after loss to SRH

(Photo: BCCI)

Indian Premier League’s (IPL) defending champions, Chennai Super Kings suffered their second consecutive defeat on Friday (5 April), losing out to Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in a match where the stark contrast between the two teams’ batters made all the difference.

Being asked to bat first, Chennai tottered and wobbled their way to 165/5, with none of their batters barring Shivam Dube scoring at a strike rate north of 140. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad could only accumulate 26 runs in his 21-ball stay out in the middle, while Ajinkya Rahane scored 35 runs in 30 deliveries.

On being asked about Chennai’s batting approach after the match, Gaikwad stated that the pitch was slow and the team had assumed anything around 170 to 175 would be a good total.

It was a slow pitch, to be honest. In the back end, they bowled well, kept the game in control. We could not capitalise in the last five overs. We were in a good situation in the beginning, but they bowled well at the back. It was a black soil pitch, so we expected the pitch to be slow. As the ball got older, it got slower and slower. I thought 170-1756 would be a good total.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Sunrisers Hyderabad made light work of the chase courtesy of their powerplay batting, as 78 of the 166 runs they scored were accumulated in the first six overs. Ruing missed chances in the powerplay, Gaikwad added:

If we would have had a good powerplay with the ball, we could have had the game. We conceded too many in the batting powerplay. There was one dropped catch and one expensive over.

Ruturaj Gaikwad