With three successive defeats in the opening three matches this season, Chennai Super Kings had a woeful start in the IPL this year. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team then made a recovery with wins over Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders before the team lost by ten runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday evening.
Chasing the target of 195 runs, Chennai Super Kings were once placed at 111 for 3 in ten overs but then could only reach a total of 184 for 8 in 20 overs resulting in the ten-run loss. Post the loss, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad shared how the team scored just four runs in the next two overs after the tenth over and how chasing 12-13 runs per over at the death was going to be tough for the team in the chase.
“It was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs (with the bat). 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 tough,” Gaikwad said in the post match presentation.
Chennai Super Kings had won the toss and opted to bowl first on Saturday. With Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma hitting a 15-ball half-century, the hosts raced to 63 for 0 before Mukesh Choudhary removed Travis Head and Hyderabad skipper Ishan Kishan in the sixth over. Sharma too fell in the eighth over off the bowling of Jamie Overton after scoring 55 runs and the Hyderabad side then finished up with a total of 194 for 9 in 20 overs. Gaikwad spoke about how his team thought Hyderabad could score a total of 220-230 runs before his bowlers pulled things back.
“Looking at how their powerplay went, I was looking at a score of around 220-230. To pull it back by 30 runs, I would have taken it any day under 200…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 with the ball,” added Gaikwad.