The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced off against the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 29th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 14.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and as expected opted to bowl first in the match. They fielded an unchanged playing XI, unlike CSK who made one change by bringing in Matheesha Pathirana for Maheesh Theekshana.
Batting first, Chennai Super Kings posted a monstrous total of 206/4 on the board thanks to the half-centuries from Shivam Dube and Ruturaj Gaikwad as well as MS Dhoni’s vintage finishing.
Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma stood like a wall in front of the Chennai Super Kings bowlers and smoked them all over the park. However, after the dismissal of Ishan and Tilak Varma, no batter provided the much-needed support to Rohit Sharma and in the end Mumbai Indians were restricted to 186/6, facing yet another humiliating defeat in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Rohit Sharma completed his century as he smashed 105 runs off 63, but he didn’t celebrate it as his team lost the match by 20 runs. For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana was the hero as he picked up 4 wickets for 28 runs.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked about what pleased him most about the victory. Ruturaj Gaikwad was at his hilarious best with the reply and he said that the young wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni smashing Hardik Pandya for a hat-trick of sixes was the difference-maker. Ruturaj Gaikwad: said:
“The young wicketkeeper scoring those three sixes helped us a lot, that proved to be the difference. We needed those 10-15 extra runs for this kind of venue. In the middle phase, Bumrah bowled really well. I feel we were spot on with our execution with the ball despite them scoring some great shots. I would have taken 6 overs 60 at the powerplay. You need to be on the mark with bowling and batting at this venue.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad also acknowledged the bowling performance of Matheesha Pathirana and said that he bowled brilliantly in the match. Ruturaj Gaikwad stated:
“Our Malinga bowled really well today, he nailed those yorkers. Not to forget, Tushar and Shardul also did well.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad also revealed the reason behind Ajinkya Rahane opening the innings and said that the veteran batter was carrying a niggle so they wanted him to open. Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
“(On plans ahead) I think we need to keep it simple, encourage all to be in a good headspace and continue the same way. Jinks was carrying a bit of a niggle, so thought it was better for him to open. I’m fine batting anywhere, plus it is the added responsibility as the team captain.”
Chennai Super Kings’ Journey In Indian Premier League 2024 Before The Match Against Mumbai Indians
Under the leadership of the newly-appointed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) started off their Indian Premier League 2024 on a high. They beat the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the tournament opener on March 22 by 6 wickets with 8 balls remaining.
In their second match on March 26, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 63 runs in a repeat of last year’s final. After a wonderful start to the season, a downward spiral came for CSK when they faced back-to-back defeats in their next two matches. On March 31, the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 20 runs, and on April 5, the Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won by 6 wickets with 11 balls remaining against the 5-time champions.
However, Chennai Super Kings made sure that they didn’t face a hat-trick of defeats as they bounced back strong in their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). On April 08, CSK hosted the Knight Riders at home and completely outplayed them to register a brilliant 7-wicket victory with 14 balls remaining.
