Chennai Super Kings is a win away from securing a spot in the playoffs of this edition of the Indian Premier League after a five-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals.
Simarjeet Singh sizzled with the ball, picking up three crucial wickets—Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, and Sanju Samson—to restrict the visiting side to a below-par 141/5.
Chasing the total on a tricky surface that offered assistance to spinners and medium pacers, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad structured his innings with the utmost care and stood unbeaten to see his team through despite losing partners at regular intervals.
In an age where strike rate turns into a talking point after each match, Ruturaj was immune to outside noise and batted at a rate of just over 100 to take the game away from RR slowly, but surely. His 41-ball 42 included just a solitary four and a couple of sixes.
Despite having the added pressure of succeeding someone like MS Dhoni, who has won seven trophies with CSK, Ruturaj has been phenomenal with the bat this season. He is second to Virat Kohli in the Orange Cap standings with 583 runs in 13 matches at an average of 58.30.
“Obviously, taking on the captaincy adds extra pressure, responsibility, and distraction. He’s trying his best to ensure that the players are in a good space; he’s dealing with a lot of extra stuff, but he has also taken care of his batting. That’s one thing I’ve observed with great captains and great players: do all the captaincy stuff but also take care of their own game as well,” CSK batting coach Mike Hussey said after the victory.
“Even during the game tonight, he had a lot running through his mind after the first innings. But he was like, ‘Okay, it’s time to take off the captaincy hat now; leave that in the locker. Now it’s time to put on the batting cap; you’re a batter now.’ He’s actually doing this really well,” the former CSK opener added.
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Apart from the responsibilities of captaincy, Ruturaj has also dealt with the absence of his opening partner from last season, Devon Conway, who was ruled out due to a thumb injury.
Individually, Ruturaj amassed 672 runs at a strike rate of 139.70 while Convey scored 590 runs at 147.40 in the 2023 season where CSK clinched its fifth title.
The duo recorded 849 runs in combination at an average of 56.60 including four 50+and two 100+ partnerships.
With an all-important game coming up against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, CSK would bank on its captain’s batting prowess to come to the fore. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
This season, CSK has fiddled with Rahane and Ravindra for the opening slots with Ruturaj dropping down the order to bat at No. 3 on three occasions. However, this hasn’t been as productive as the side would have liked. Except for the 69 runs scored in the win against Mumbai Indians, Ruturaj has performed below his calibre in this position (17 vs LSG, 0 vs GT).
That said, the CSK skipper has managed to negate the uncontrollables and let his bat do the talking. Out of 13 games played so far, he crossed the 20-run threshold in all but four games.
“Ruturaj has been superb for us once again, as always. But it has been challenging as well. He hasn’t had his usual partner, Conway, at the top of the order with him, who has obviously been fantastic. Before that, he had Faf (du Plessis). So he has had an on-and-off relationship with opening partners as well. He’s a quality player and a person, and we are lucky to have him,” Hussey remarked.
On the captaincy front as well, Ruturaj has been quite exceptional for someone who’s skippering an IPL side for the first time. Despite losing 11 out of 13 tosses, CSK has managed to register seven wins and has the playoff berth firmly in its sights.
“Ruturaj has been fantastic coming into this season as the captain. He has a very calm demeanor and he’s very clear about how he wants to go about in the middle. He’s fortunate enough that he’s got some great minds helping him, especially during the initial stages with the likes of MS and Stephen Fleming. I already think he’s doing a fantastic job and he’ll only get better with time,” Hussey said.
The 48-year-old further added: “He’s already got a really good cricket brain. We saw that with the way he played today (against RR). He knew when to just knock it around and when to attack. And I think the more he does it, the more he will he’ll trust that as well, which was one of Dhoni’s greatest assets over the years”
With an all-important game coming up against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, CSK would bank on its captain’s batting prowess to come to the fore.
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