TATA IPL 2024: Gaikwad's Unbeaten 67 Leads CSK to Victory, Ends KKR's Winning Streak

By siliconindia  |  Tuesday, 09 April 2024, 09:45:20 AM IST

TATA IPL 2024: Gaikwad's Unbeaten 67 Leads CSK to Victory, Ends KKR's Winning Streak
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad returned to form with a splendid unbeaten knock of 67 runs off 58 balls. This performance contributed to Chennai Super Kings securing their third home victory of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Following Ravindra Jadeja's impressive bowling spell of 3-18, Tushar Deshpande and Mustafizur Rahman also shone with exceptional performances, claiming figures of 3-33 and 2-22 respectively. Their efforts helped restrict KKR to a total of 137/9. In response, Gaikwad treated the home crowd to a splendid display of boundary-hitting, carrying his bat through the innings and comfortably completing the modest chase with 14 balls remaining.
Coming into this game, Gaikwad had scored 88 runs in four matches with a highest score of 46. But when it mattered, along with dew coming in, he stood up tall and relied on timing plus piercing the gaps to get a comfortable win for CSK. He was also supported by nice 20s from Daryl Mitchell and impact player Shivam Dube in snapping KKR’s unbeaten streak.
Chasing 138, Rachin Ravindra got moving with three fours coming via an on-drive, loft and heave off Mitchell Starc in the third over. But in a bid to go over long-on, Ravindra miscued one to the fielder off Vaibhav Arora. From the other end, Gaikwad began by ramping Arora for four, followed by him taking three boundaries off left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, all of which had a silken touch. He backed away to create room for driving thrice in the packed off-side gap with exquisite timing and precision.
Gaikwad then smashed Arora for two back-to-back fours -– a punched drive was followed by a fierce cut, as CSK made 52/1 in Power-play. Mitchell kickstarted his promotion to three, with Ajinkya Rahane nursing a calf strain, by dancing down the pitch to loft Sunil Narine for six, followed by reverse-sweeping him for four more.
Despite Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy bowling economically, Gaikwad and Mitchell opted for a cautious approach to maintain the momentum of the innings. Gaikwad reached his first half-century of the season by taking a couple of runs off Chakaravarthy. However, Narine disrupted the partnership of 70 runs off 55 balls by dismissing Mitchell, who had advanced down the pitch, with a delivery that spun through the gate.
As the end approached, Gaikwad and Dube seized opportunities to score boundaries, with each of them executing pulled shots for fours off Starc. Following this, Dube unleashed powerful sixes down the ground and over long-off against Chakaravarthy. Adding to the momentum, Dube struck another six over deep mid-wicket off Arora before his off stump was dislodged by the pacer. With M.S. Dhoni taking a single, Gaikwad concluded the chase by driving Roy through cover for a boundary, securing CSK's eighth victory over KKR at Chepauk.
Source: IANS

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