“My first IPL fifty was also with Mahi bhai”: Ruturaj Gaikwad

After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to winning ways with a victory over KKR, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad who finished the match with 67, became “nostalgic” as MS Dhoni was also with him when he hit his first IPL fifty.

Riding on Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman and Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliance followed by Gaikwad and Shivam Dube’s fine knocks, helped CSK register a 7-wicket victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match here at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.
CSK continued domination at their fortress as they cruised home without really breaking a sweat, ending KKR’s unbeaten run in this edition of the IPL. Chennai skipper Gaikwad remained unbeaten at 67 as he slammed the winning runs for the team.

Gaikwad said even at the time of his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) half-century Dhoni was there with him to “finish the match.”

“Little nostalgic for me. During my first IPL fifty, a similar situation, Mahi bhai was with me and we finished the match,” Gaikwad said in a post-match presentation.

Gaikwad further claimed that in the absence of Ajinkya Rahane due to injury, he took up the duty of anchoring the innings and did not want to burden the younger players.

“With Jinx injured, onus was on me to bat through, didn’t want to put the youngsters in a difficult situation. Was a 150-160 wicket. Jaddu always comes in after the power play with momentum in the spin department,” he added.

Gaikwad also stated that everyone on the squad has a good attitude, and he receives assistance from MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming when needed.

“With this team, I don’t really need to tell things to anyone. Everyone’s in a great head space, Mahi bhai and Fleming are still around to take those calls,” the CSK captain said.

Gaikwad, who scored runs at a strike rate of 115.52, said he did not consider it a sluggish start. In a lighthearted tone, he urged leaving such conversations to the professionals.

“I wouldn’t say mine is a slow start, in T20s there are times you nick off one or two balls, sometimes you need a bit of luck to get going, maybe something for experts to talk about, with my strike rate (laughs),” he added.