Aakash Chopra Criticises Ruturaj Gaikwad: Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra criticized Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s inning during their win over the Rajasthan Royals.
CSK took on RR in Match 61 of IPL 2024 in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The away side won the toss and chose to bat first. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave the Royals a decent start, crossing the 40-run mark in the powerplay and not losing a wicket on what was a sticky track.
But as soon as the powerplay ended, RR’s inning fell off the rails. Riyan Parag tried building partnerships with Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel, but the run rate was quite slow. Parag was the team’s highest run scorer with 47 off 35, and the Jaipur-based franchise only managed to notch 141 runs in 20 overs.
In response, Rachin Ravindra got CSK off to a flyer, scoring 27 in 18 before being dismissed in the fourth over. On the other end, captain Gaikwad held firm, changing the strike and keeping his wicket. He built partnerships with Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, and Shivam Dube, where they made more runs than Gaikwad.
CSK kept losing wickets but stayed on track for the easy yet tricky chase. The Super Kings chased the target down with dive wickets and 10 balls to spare, with Ruturaj scoring 42 runs in 41 balls at a strike rate of 102.44.
Aakash Chopra Criticises Ruturaj Gaikwad
Aakash Chopra reviewed the match on his YouTube channel. In the video, he reckoned that CSK would’ve looked to improve their net run rate by chasing the small target down quickly and how Rachin Ravindra came to bat with that mindset.
“When it was the turn for the run chase, it seemed like Chennai would think about winning the match and improving their net rate slightly. They said Rachin Ravindra would open and Ajinkya Rahane wouldn’t come—a fair decision. It seemed like it was an RR vs. RR match at the start—the Rajasthan Royals vs. Rachin Ravindra,” said Chopra.
The former India player then pointed out how Ruturaj Gaikwad held on to one end throughout the inning but played a very slow inning. He said,
“Ruturaj Gaikwad was standing at the other end but wasn’t doing anything. Rachin was hitting fours and sixes, and he was watching from the other end. So until Rachin Ravindra didn’t get out, the game was RR vs. RR. However, Rachin got out. It was a short knock. He scored 27 runs off 18 balls. He hit two sixes.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad is second in the race for the Orange Cap, having scored 583 runs in 13 matches with a strike rate of 141 and an average of 58.
As for the Chennai Super Kings, they now have 14 points in 13 matches and are favorites for a playoff spot. They will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last league stage game in IPL 2024 on May 18 in Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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