The captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Ruturaj Gaikwad has blamed it as a bad day in the office of the bowling department as the key factor behind their loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday, April 3. The five time champions have already lost the first two games of the Indian premier league (IPL), and they are at the bottom of the table.
Although CSK managed to put a competitive 209 on the board in the batting first, the team lost to the five-wicket margin after Shreyas Iyer-led side overtook the target with eight balls remaining. The hosts were not in control of their bowling and Iyer, Cooper Connolly, Priyansh Arya were free to score. The latter collected the Player of the Month after his 39 in 11 deliveries when opening up the batting.
Going into the run chase, Gaikwad said that CSK had sufficient fast and spin-bowling alternatives. But the two departments failed to deliver and it even cost them the match.
“We felt we had three seamers going in, and obviously we have two good wrist spinners bowling in tandem, especially in the middle after the powerplay. We felt that, you know, it will help. But I think, you know, slight off day for both of them. So, I think, that is what cost us. Sometimes we executed really well. Sometimes we just didn’t execute at the right time. There was a point when it (required run-rate) went to 11, and a couple of good overs would have taken it to 12-13. We just did not get momentum in the middle (with the ball),” Gaikwad said after the match.
Anshul Kamboj and Matt Henry both claimed two wickets. Nevertheless, with economy rates of 13.50 and 11.72, respectively, they were by no means successful in the game.
After losing against PBKS, CSK doesn’t have much time to regroup. On Sunday, April 5, the yellow squad will travel to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to play the reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
