As a batter. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, has not had a good day against the Sunrisers Hyderabad tonight at Chepauk. It is CSK’s last home match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season, and so the home fans were expecting something special from the team as well as from the captain.
IPL 2926 is so far hot and cool for Ruturaj Gaikwad. His strike rate and form were under scrutiny on multiple occasions. Batting first against the away team, SRH, Gaikwad had to struggle a lot. During his brief knock, he joins the former skipper, MS Dhoni, in a shameful list.
A record Ruturaj Gaikwad would like to forget
Against the Pat Cummins-led bowling line-up, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored only 15 runs from 21 balls. Because of the slow pace of innings, the strike rate was 71.43, clearly one of the slowest knocks in the ongoing Indian Premier League season.
Additionally, he did get a single four or six during this time. Due to this 15-run knock, which was without a single boundary, Gaikwad has joined the list of shameful records in the league. Since the inception of the franchise league, cricket fans have witnessed multiple explosive knocks. But there are some slow-paced battings as well.
Steve Smith, the Australian superstar batter, who is known for his aggressive batting, once recorded a 34-run knock off 39 balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad without claiming a single boundary.
MS Dhoni surprisingly is in the list multiple times
Legendary keeper-batter, MS Dhoni, who is also known for an aggressive batting style, is in the list for four different knocks. Rohit Sharma, who has gained the title ‘Hitman’ from his fans because of his fast-paced batting style, surprisingly, is also in the list. The current skipper of Ruturaj Gaikwad joins the list at the 8th spot.
Most balls faced in an IPL innings without a boundary
- 39b - Steve Smith (34 off 39 v SRH)
- 30b - MS Dhoni (28 off 30 v RCB)
- 27b - MS Dhoni (18 off 27 v DC)
- 22b - MS Dhoni (8* off 22 v KKR)
- 22b - Rohit Sharma (18 off 22 v CSK)
- 22b - Axar Patel (11 off 22 v KKR)
- 21b - MS Dhoni (12 off 21 v MI)
- 21b - Ruturaj Gaikwad (15 off 21 v SRH)
In the 12th over of the first innings of the 63rd match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season, Cummins clinched the opposing skipper’s wicket. Eshan Malinga took the catch to complete the wicket-taking process. When Gaikwad lost his wicket, CSK was on 100 runs only.
Thanks to Dewald Brevis and Kartik Sharma, the Chennai Super Kings secured a total of 180 runs in 20 overs. While Brevis, the best batter for CSK of the night, got 44 off 27, Sharma claimed 32 runs from 19 balls. It is worth mentioning that Gaikwad’s poor record came at the moment when CSK is in search of 2 crucial points.
Read More: Eshan Malinga pumped-up after rattling Dewald Brevis' stumps in CSK vs SRH clash
