IPL 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Credits Rayudu's Game Awareness for Limited-Overs Success

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has credited Ambati Rayudu‘s great game awareness as the reason behind his success in the limited-overs fold, of late.

Meanwhile, Rayudu has been sensational for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) so far in this ongoing season eleven.

Moreover, batting down the order made no difference to Rayudu, as he continued doing his job with the willow.

Rayudu is currently at the second spot in the list of Orange Cap winners. He has amassed 370 runs in eight games with an average of 46.25. His form at the top has ensured Chennai play freely at the back end.

Chennai will square off against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 3 (Thursday) and will like to extend their lead at the top.

Gavaskar hails Rayudu’s ability:

The legendary batsman Gavaskar has hailed Rayudu’s determination to bat till the end which has helped Chennai. He also feels that it has provided Chennai’s middle-order to got all out and chase down targets.

“He (Rayudu) has the ability to know when to accelerate and when to knock the ball around for ones and twos. Moreover, his determination to stay the length of the innings means that Chennai has one well-set batsman at the end too and that makes the last few overs quite profitable. With Dhoni being in incredible hitting form, Chennai are confident of chasing down any score that the opposition may put up,” Gavaskar wrote in TOI.

Gavaskar also credited Shane Watson and Suresh Raina for Super Kings’ success.

However, Gavaskar noted that Chennai will struggle in the powerplay overs, unlike Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Sunrisers have been quite exceptional as they bowlers have mastered the art of defending low totals.

Kolkata have a balanced attack:

Gavaskar reckons that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a mixed bag and Dinesh Karthik is using them cleverly. He also noted that after getting it wrong in the first few games, Karthik has set his strategies right.

“The Kolkata Knight Riders have a balanced attack and that doesn’t make it easy for the big hitters as Karthik is cleverly using the mix of pace and spin,” Gavaskar added.

Sunil Gavaskar also believes that KKR is gaining the pace with Chris Lynn coming back to form.

The veteran cricketer also hailed young Shubman Gill for showing great awareness skills.

“Having young Shubman Gill down the order is also proving to be a good move as the youngster is showing great adaptability and awareness of the situation,” he concluded.

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