"Ayush batted brilliantly": Ruturaj Gaikwad lauds Ayush Mhatre fter painful loss vs PBKS in IPL 2026

The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is in the second round of the tournament. The second match of round two was played between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). As PBKS beat CSK by 5 wickets. Shreyas Iyer for PBKS won the toss and elected to field first, as they came into the game with an unchanged side.

The home team, CSK, made one change after their first match loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR); Mathew Short was replaced by Prashant Veer. Yet again, a tough start for Sanju Samson as he was back in the pavilion after scoring just 7 runs. He did not have the best of starts in the first two games.

Ayush Mhatre starred for CSK

However, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ayush Mhatre picked up the pace, as the latter was the aggressor among the two, and CSK scored 57/1 in the powerplay. Ayush has been striking the ball very hard. Ayush Mhatre made a brilliant fifty, off 29 balls, and was the difference maker. Ruturaj Gaikwad dismissed on the score of 28 off 22 balls.

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A few overs later, Ayush Mhatre was not the lucky third time, after two drop catches as Yuzvendra Chahal took the catch, and the former was dismissed on the score of 73 off 43 balls. It was an excellent innings from the young batter. After that, the pace of runs slowed down.

However, Sarfaraz Khan’s short innings of 32 off 11 deliveries helped CSK to get back on the track, and Shivam Dube took the charge in the business end of the innings and scored at a decent pace. Dube finished the innings with style, scoring 45 off 27 balls, and CSK finished off with the score of 209/5 in their 20 overs.

Priyansh Arya was off to a flyer

While chasing 210, PBKS came out all guns blazing, thanks to Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya. The two batters scored fifty inside three overs and were all over the CSK bowlers. Priyansh decimated the bowling attack of the Yellow Army as he was dismissed after scoring 39 off 11 balls.

Prabhsimran Singh was involved in a huge mix-up with Cooper Conolly and paid the price as he walked back to the pavilion after scoring 43 off 34 deliveries. Connolly and Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings and kept the run rate at a good pace. The former was back in the pavilion after playing a handy innings of 36 off 22 balls.

Iyer scored a half-century in a run chase, as the Punjab skipper showcased his calm nature to score runs under pressure; however was dismissed on 50 off 29 balls. As PBKS wins two out of the two games in IPL 2026. This is the first time that Ruturaj Gaikwad CSK has lost 6 consecutive games at home. Ruturaj Gaikwad, as a captain, has been below par so far this season.

I feel it was a really good score- Ruturaj Gaikwad

After the loss, Ruturaj Gaikwad said, "I feel it was a really good score. Wicket was better for pacers but it was gripping - slower balls were gripping too. With big boundaries, felt it was a really good score. (On the Impact Player) We felt we had three seamers and having two wrist-spinners bowling in tandem will help."

"Off-day for both of them and that is what cost us. (On the bowling in general) Mixture of both - sometimes, we executed well, sometimes, we did not execute well. The pressure did not build. There was a point when it (required run-rate) went to 11, and a couple of good overs would have taken it to 12-13. We just did not get momentum in the middle (with the ball)."

Ruturaj Gaikwad further added, "Tough one (to take). Lot of positives. Ayush batted brilliantly. Shivam batted really well. Batting wise, we had good confidence. Bowling wise, lot to improve. (On his innings) Today, I felt to stick around a bit. Wicket was gripping, so thought to hang in there and then cash in but unfortunately, got out at the wrong time."

Also Read: IPL Points Table 2026: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After CSK vs PBKS Match 7