Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad endured a nightmare outing in the team’s final home game of the season against SunRisers Hyderabad on Monday, May 18. After opting to bat first in a must-win clash, Gaikwad struggled badly for momentum and ended up slowing down CSK’s innings at a crucial stage of the game.
Opening the batting alongside Sanju Samson, Ruturaj attempted to anchor the innings on a difficult Chepauk surface. However, in an era where anchor batters often operate at strike rates above 140, the CSK captain managed just 15 runs off 21 balls before eventually losing his wicket in the 12th over.
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At the time of his dismissal, Chennai had crawled to just 100 runs despite having wickets in hand, putting additional pressure on the middle order in a game they could not afford to lose.
The sluggish knock immediately drew criticism from fans on social media, especially because the batters around him looked far more comfortable with the pace of the surface. While Ruturaj scored at a strike rate of just 71.4, Sanju Samson, Kartik Sharma and Urvil Patel all batted at strike rates well above 160 during their respective cameos.
WAS THE CHENNAI PITCH TOUGH?
One of the major factors behind Ruturaj’s struggle appeared to be the nature of the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Chennai Super Kings had prepared a black-soil surface in an apparent attempt to neutralise SunRisers Hyderabad’s explosive batting lineup.
While the tactic may have been aimed at slowing SRH down later in the match, it also ended up trapping CSK’s own captain.
Ruturaj looked particularly uncomfortable against the cutters and slower deliveries bowled by Pat Cummins and Sakib Hussain. Instead of taking risks, the opener largely focused on rotating strike and preserving his wicket, a strategy that never really allowed CSK to break free during the middle overs.
Remarkably, Ruturaj failed to hit a single boundary in his entire innings, finishing without a four or a six in one of the slowest knocks of the IPL 2026 season.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
