"It was just about....": Ruturaj Gaikwad blames batters after CSK's loss against SRH in IPL 2026

The Chennai Super Kings skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, has failed to play a fine hand for the Super Kings in the massive chase, which at one stage looked a settled affair for the batters in the yellow jersey.

The Chennai Super Kings came off a solid comeback in the IPL, as after losing three matches in a row from the start of the season, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side earned their first victory against the Delhi Capitals and then backed it up with a comprehensive win against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Gaikwad looked confident and in a better mood when he appeared for the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

On the other hand, the Sunrisers are high on confidence, as their homecoming turned out to be a massive positive for them, as they defeated the mighty Rajasthan Royals with their two uncapped pacers sharing eight wickets between them. Following the tremendous success, they jumped positions to enter a competitive spot with the other teams. They will look to continue their domination at their home ground.

Abhishek Sharma’s solid start and Heinrich Klaasen’s strong stand handed SRH a formidable total

The Sunrisers were looking to continue their promising batting form from the last game. However, this time, the Sunrisers opener Abhishek Sharma scored a half-century off just 15 balls and handed them a perfect start.

Despite the fall of wickets, which also included Ishan Kishan, dismissed for a golden duck, the Sunrisers continued their onslaught and looked to dominate with the bat. Heinrich Klaasen scored another half-century, which helped them further in the innings.

Sunrisers went on to pile up a total of 194 runs in their 20 overs and posted a target of 195 in front of the CSK batters, who also looked in a promising touch on a former occasion.

Nitish Reddy and Eshan Malinga share the wickets tally for SRH

The Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up two of their early wickets, which included the dismissals of Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre, who were dismissed within the power play. Eshan Malinga bowled the final over of the powerplay and dismissed the CSK skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Shivang Kumar also picked the wicket of Dewald Brevis, who was dismissed for a duck. Eshan Malinga picked a wicket in every over of his spell, while Sakib Hussain dismissed Shivam Dube in the final over of his spell.

Having defended the total, the Sunrisers finally clinched a victory in the game by a margin of 10 runs. The team has reclaimed their no. 4 spot, though they have played a match more than the Delhi Capitals; however, their run rate has given them the upper hand.

It was just about building a couple of partnerships- Ruturaj Gaikwad

The CSK captain claimed that, "Looking at how their powerplay went, I was looking at a score around 220-230. To pull it back by 30 runs, I would have taken it any day under 200. It was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs.

"From there, it was just about building a couple of partnerships. We scored just 4 runs in the next 2 overs after the 10-over mark. Chasing 12-13 at the death is going to be difficult," he added.

Ruturaj Gaikwad also praised the SRH opener, saying, "It's been three successive games that the bowling unit has been doing really well. Even on the power play today, I thought Abhishek played brilliantly. I think everyone did a good job."

"He (Anshul Kamboj) is working really hard on his bowling, especially the death bowling. Very rarely do you get bowlers who have clarity and tell the captain that I know what to do; this is what I am going to do," he heaped praises on the CSK paceman who now heads the Purple Cap leaderboard.

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