3 Reasons Why CSK Lost To RCB: CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has come under the scanner for his comments regarding being “happy” about the margin of defeat at the hands of RCB on Friday evening in Chennai.
CSK lost to RCB at the Chepauk for only the second time in IPL history, with the previous instance being way back in 2008. It was an emphatic 50-run victory for RCB, who, following on from their thumping win over KKR at the Eden Gardens in the tournament opener, now have two wins in two games and sit at the top of the points table.
Chasing 197, CSK managed 146 runs, losing the game by 50 runs, a margin Ruturaj Gaikwad said he was “still happy that we didn’t lose by a big margin and at the end it was just 50 runs.”
CSK vs RCB: Let us check out the 3 reasons why CSK lost to RCB and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s comments after the defeat:
Rajat Patidar gets three lives
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar left a huge impression at the Chepauk with a Man of the Match-worthy performance. He cracked 51 runs off 32 balls, on the back of which RCB plundered 196.
Patidar was the top scorer of the game, and was also helped by CSK’s poor fielding as they dropped him thrice. Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, and Khaleel Ahmed giving the RCB skipper a reprieve each in the field.
Gaikwad lamented those dropped chances, saying, “They just kept going, we dropped catches at crucial times, and there was always an extra six or extra boundary that was coming after that. So just think the momentum kept going and it didn’t really stop till the last over.”
CSK spinners not living up to the task
It could very well be argued that the biggest reason for CSK’s loss was the lack of pressue and good performance from CSK’s two senior-most spinners: Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. The duo combined bowled five overs for 59 runs and one wicket, and though Noor Ahmad took three wickets, he leaked 36 runs as well.
While Ruturaj Gaikwad described the pitch as “sticky,” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said his side didn’t get home advantage as the pitch didn’t help the spinners much.
“It’s not the Chepauk [of old] where you can just go in and play four spinners,” Fleming said. “We’re having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it’s quite different.”
Hazlewood and Bhuvneshar kill CSK’s chase
With the target of 197 in mind, CSK got off to a poor start, with Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar effectively killing off CSK’s chances of a successful chase in the powerplay. Hazlewood bounced out Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the second over, and Bhuvneshwar dismissed Hooda in the fifth over. CSK ended the powerplay at 30/3, and their chase never picked up from there.
The CSK skipper felt they had conceded 20 runs more than they ideally should have, and that forced the top order to play shots and lose their wickets.
“We know Rahul backs his shots, and I went and backed my shots as well. Sometimes it works, sometimes doesn’t. But as I said, there are times when you have par score in your mind, and probably when you’re chasing 20 runs extra, you always want to be a step ahead of the game while you’re chasing. That’s what the thinking was. Didn’t really work out,” Gaikwad added.
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