IPL 2021, CSK vs KKR: I Was Hiding Behind One Of Our Members, Was Very Nervous To Watch The Last Ball: Ruturaj Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Ruturaj Gaikwad opened up on his nervousness on watching the final ball of the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday.

Some late firepower from wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana helped KKR to post a competitive score of 171/6 as the team added 53 runs from the last five overs.

IPL 2021: CSK defeated KKR by two wickets in a nail-biting contest

Although Gaikwad, along with South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis, set the stage for them to chase the target with a tremendous 74-run stand between them, the KKR bowlers found ways to put breaks on their run flow.

Gaikwad scored 40 runs from 28 balls at the strike rate of 142.86 as he pummelled two fours and three sixes before KKR skipper Eoin Morgan caught him at covers off Andre Russell’s bowling.

CSK required 26 runs to win in the final two overs, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran at the crease all-rounders. Jadeja annihilated Prasidh Krishna in the penultimate over of the match, and the southpaw blazed 20 runs from the last four balls to reduce the equations to four runs from six balls.

Despite Sunil Narine’s dazzling over, CSK managed to cross the finishing line on the final ball as Deepak Chahar cleared the carrom ball towards the mid-wicket region to get a single and help CSK win by two wickets.

If one of us batted till the 13th over, the game wouldn’t have come this closer: Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Gaikwad said that he had hidden behind a team member to avoid watching the final ball as he was very nervous and wished that either one from him or Du Plessis could have batted at least till the 13th over to finish the game earlier than it happened.

“I was hiding behind one of our members, was very nervous to watch the last ball. When you are chasing a big total, the opening stand is crucial. We managed to do it today. It would have been better if one of us batted till the 13th over. The game wouldn’t have come this closer. He (Dhoni) is very cool; everyone sitting in the dugout is used to the pressure in their international careers too,” Gaikwad told the official broadcasters after the match. 

“So I think they are really cool and back themselves to cross the line, The last ball (didn’t want to see), because if there was a Super Over, maybe I could have batted and all the nervousness could have kicked in. Obviously, after every win, we do have celebrations. And when we lose, the atmosphere is quite chilled out and normal as well. When we win, we celebrate a lot,” he added.

CSK’s win against KKR takes them back to the top of the points table and will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 30 in Sharjah.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Biggest Challenge For CSK Would Be To Bat First, Says Virender Sehwag