IPL 2024: CSK Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad Says 'Tough Pill to Swallow... But LSG Played Really Well'

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad lauded Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after suffering a six-wicket loss in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.

In fact, LSG scored a rare back-to-back home and away win over CSK as they had won the match at Ekana Stadium a few days back.

Coming in after the fall of the first wicket in the first over, Stoinis hammered a 63-ball 124 not out as Lucknow Super Giants romped to 213/4 after Giakwad’s 60-ball 108 not out helped Chennai Super Kings to 210/4 in 20 overs.

Lucknow looked in trouble at 88-3 after 11 overs but Stoinis put on 70 runs with Nicholas Pooran, who hit 34 off 15 balls, and an unbeaten 65-run stand with Deepak Hooda to achieve victory in 19.3 overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad said CSK were in control of the game but credited Stoinis for LSG’s win.

“Tough pill to swallow, but good game of cricket. LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till 13-14 overs, but Stoinis played a great innings,” Gaikwad said after the loss.

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When asked if dew influenced the closing exchanges of the game, the CSK skipper said: “It played a part, there was a huge amount of dew and it took our spinners out of the game. We could have otherwise controlled the game better and taken it deeper. But these are parts of the game, can’t control it.”

When asked to clarify the reason to send Ravindra Jadeja ahead of in-form Dube, Ruturaj explained: “Jaddu is batting at number 4 since we lost the second wicket within the powerplay.”

“Our thinking is clear that after the powerplay if there is a wicket, Shivam will come out to bat. We can’t force batters to get out after. To be honest, I thought our target wasn’t enough, it was just about par because of the dew we’ve seen during our practice sessions. But credit to the way LSG batted,” he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)