NEW DELHI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad
spearheaded the Chennai Super Kings' chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders with an unbeaten 67. What made this moment particularly memorable for him was finishing the match with MS Dhoni by his side.
Gaikwad, who was handed the captaincy by veteran Dhoni ahead of the season, hammered nine boundaries including the winning hit to make it three in three at home this season.
"Bit of nostalgia for me. My first IPL fifty, Mahi bhai was with me to finish the match. With Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) injured, onus was on me to bat through, didn't want to put the youngsters in a difficult situation," Gaikwad said.
Ravindra Jadeja
returned bowling figures of 3-18 as holders CSK handed KKR their first loss of this Indian Premier League season with a seven-wicket hammering on Monday.
Jadeja's disciplined left-arm spin led Chennai's bowling charge to restrict Kolkata to 137-9, a total the home team overhauled with 14 balls to spare at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
"Jaddu (Jadeja) always comes in after the power play with momentum in the spin department," Gaikwad said of his man of the match performer.
"With this team, I don't really need to tell things to anyone. Everyone's in a great head space, Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai and (Stephen) Fleming are still around to take those calls," Gaikwad added.
English (US) ·