Following their fourth loss in the 2026 IPL season, Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad offered a balanced perspective on his team’s performance. Despite falling 10 runs short against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gaikwad chose to highlight the resilience of his bowling department. After winning the toss and electing to field at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Chennai managed to keep Sunrisers Hyderabad to a total of 194/9. This was considered a significant recovery, as the “Orange Army” appeared poised for a much larger total following explosive half-centuries from Heinrich Klaasen (59 off 39) and Abhishek Sharma (59 off 22).
Gaikwad Praises Bowling Resilience
Reflecting on the first innings with broadcasters, Gaikwad noted that the game could have easily shifted further away from them.
“Looking at how their powerplay went, I was looking at a score around 220-230. To pull it back by 30 runs, I would have taken it any day under 200,” Gaikwad stated.
The captain emphasized that the bowling unit has shown consistent improvement over recent fixtures. He specifically credited the bowlers for regaining control after Abhishek Sharma’s early onslaught.
“It’s been three successive games that the bowling unit has been doing really well. Even the powerplay today I thought Abhishek played brilliantly. I think everyone did a good job. He (Anshul Kamboj) is working really on his bowling, especially the death bowling. Very rarely you get bowlers who have clarity and tell the captain that I know what to do, this is what I am going to do.”
Momentum Shift and Batting Hurdles
The chase for the “Yellow Army” began with promise, largely thanks to “Impact Sub” Ayush Mhatre’s quickfire 30 off 13 balls. However, a middle-order collapse saw the team slide from a comfortable 66/1 in the fifth over to a precarious 154/7 by the 17th. With 30 runs required from the final 12 deliveries, Anshul Kamboj managed a late six against Nitish Reddy, but it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap, leaving CSK 10 runs shy of the target. Gaikwad, who contributed 19 runs off 13 balls, identified the lack of sustained partnerships as the primary reason for the defeat.
“It was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs. From there it was just about building a couple of partnerships. We scored just four runs in the next two overs after the 10-over mark. Chasing 12-13 at the death is going to be difficult.”
Post-Match Standings
This result leaves the five-time champions in seventh place out of ten teams, having secured only two wins against Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders so far this season. Conversely, Sunrisers Hyderabad moved up to fourth place, balancing their record with three wins and three losses.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
On chasing 195:
“Definitely, any day! I think, Ravi bhai, as you rightly said, I felt, how the powerplay went, bowling-wise for us, anything I was looking around 220 or 230, but to pull back 30 runs, it was a great bowling effort and on this type of ground, on this type of pitch, any day I would have taken less than 200.”
On the mid-innings slowdown:
“Yes, as you rightly said, it was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs and from there I think it was just about building a couple of partnerships, and then making sure that the opposition is not in the game and under pressure as well. But I think couple of overs after that really changed the momentum. We scored just 4 runs in the next 2 overs after the 10-over mark. So I think that really helped them, and obviously, we knew that once we come into the death overs, it’s going to be tough chasing 12s or 13s an over, so credit to them, they bowled really well in the back-end.”
On the bowling unit’s form:
“I think it’s been three successive games that the bowling unit has been doing really well. Even today, everyone just stepped up after the powerplay. Even powerplay, I felt, Abhishek batted brilliantly. He took on the bowlers. We didn’t give away any loose deliveries, just some really good cricket. Hats off to that. But even after that once we got that momentum, I think we cashed on it really well and everyone chipped in… Jamie, Gurjapneet, Noor and even Anshul to top it off at the end. I think everyone did a good job.”
On the emergence of Anshul Kamboj:
“He’s working really hard on his bowling, especially his death bowling. I think you very rarely get bowlers who are really clear and tell the captain, okay, I got this, I know what to do. These are my plans. So I think I’m really glad to have him in our side. As you said, he’s doing really well. He’s improving day by day.”
