RCB vs CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad targeted after his sluggish knock vs Rajasthan Royals

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra appreciated CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for his slow 42-run knock during their win against Rajasthan Royals yesterday.

The Chennai Super Kings had welcomed 2nd placed Rajasthan Royals at the MA Chidambaram stadium in what was the Yellow Army's final IPL 2024 league match. Ruturaj Gaikwad played a key role in the win as he remained in the crease until the winning runs scored. With that win, Chennai moved up to the 3rd spot and took another major leap towards the playoffs.

Why did Aakash Chopra hail Ruturaj Gaikwad for his slow inning?

While speaking on his latest YouTube video earlier today, Aakash Chopra had a solid reason behind complimenting Ruturaj Gaikwad's knock. As the Chennai Super Kings were trying to chase down a target of just 145, the batters did not have to rush towards the total as the required rate was less than 8.

Unlike the last match, CSK came with the opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra in the middle. In that pairing, Ravindra was the one who was causing most of the damage to the Rajasthan bowlers, playing the anchor role mainly. Gaikwad on the other end was just looking to rotate the strike, nothing more.

Despite Ruturaj Gaikwad's slow innings, CSK had maintained a run rate of 10. But in the 4th ball of the 4th over Ravindra departed from the crease after a solid 18-ball 27 at a 150 strike rate. Then Kiwi batter Daryl Mitchell received promotion to number 3 but instead of stretching his knock into something big, the right-hander left after scoring 22 off 13.

CSK then experienced a little slump as Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja were off the crease in the space of 4 overs. While Dube and Ali were caught out, Jadeja was given out by the umpire for obstructing the field.

CSK were 121/5 at 15.5 overs when Sameer Rizvi came in to bat with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was very determined to not lose his wicket. By 18.2 overs, Rizvi and Gaikwad guided CSK to the victory by 5-wickets and 10 balls left. On Gaikwad's slow but sensible 42 off 41, Aakash Chopra had high praise for the Chennai captain for his accurate assessment of the situation.

"Just think about it, you scored 145 in a run chase and your opener was unbeaten on 42 at the end. It worked fine because that was the need of this game. So well done Ruturaj, you needed to stay there, and you did that. Shivam Dube came in between and played some big shots." - Aakash Chopra said on his latest YT video.

CSK to face RCB away in their next league game

Meanwhile, the Chennai Super Kings will now gear up to take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in their last IPL 2024 league game. In their previous meeting at the season opener, CSK had won the game and for them to qualify for the play-offs, they will have to do the double over Faf du Plessis' side.