Chasing a target of 183, Chennai Super Kings lost Rachin Ravindra for a duck, while Rajasthan Royals dismissed Rahul Tripathi after the powerplay. Rahul managed to score just 23 runs, failing for the third consecutive match.

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is unhappy with his team’s performance against Rajasthan Royals. In the 18th edition of the IPL, CSK suffered their second consecutive defeat on Sunday. Before losing to Rajasthan, they also lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru at home. Now, Ruturaj has blamed the loss on a poor start and subpar fielding.

Tripathi Fails for the Third Consecutive Match

With contributions from Nitish Rana and Wanindu Hasaranga, Rajasthan Royals secured a six-run victory at Barsapara Stadium on Sunday. Chasing a target of 183, CSK lost Rachin Ravindra for a duck, while Rajasthan Royals dismissed Rahul Tripathi after the powerplay.Tripathi managed to score just 23 runs, failing for the third consecutive match.

“We Are Not Getting a Good Start”

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad expressed his disappointment after his team’s narrow six-run loss to Rajasthan Royals. He admitted that CSK has been struggling to get a good start, but he remains confident that once they overcome this issue, results will change in their favor. Gaikwad said, “We are not getting a good start, but once we do, things will be different.”

Additionally, he pointed out poor fielding as a major reason for the defeat. According to him, CSK’s mistakes on the field allowed Rajasthan to score 8-10 extra runs, which proved costly in the end. He said, “We gave away 8-10 extra runs due to poor fielding, and this is something we need to improve on.”

Gaikwad played a brilliant knock of 63 runs in the match, giving CSK hope for victory. However, the continuous loss of wickets at regular intervals prevented the team from crossing the finish line. His innings provided a fighting chance, but the middle-order batsmen couldn’t contribute enough to secure a win.

Why is Gaikwad Batting at No. 3 Instead of Opening?

After the match, Gaikwad was asked why he is batting at No. 3 instead of opening the innings. He clarified that this decision was part of a pre-planned strategy. He cited the examples of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu to explain the reasoning behind the move.

Gaikwad said, “Over the past few years, Ajinkya Rahane has batted at No. 3, while Rayudu has handled the middle overs. We thought it would be better if I batted later, allowing Tripathi to attack early on.”

He further revealed that this strategy was decided during the IPL auction itself. The team management believed that Rahul Tripathi could provide an aggressive start, while Gaikwad could stabilize the innings in the middle overs and take the game deep. However, so far, this strategy hasn’t yielded the desired results, and CSK has faced back-to-back defeats.

Gaikwad also emphasised that the team needs to work on its weaknesses, particularly in fielding and maintaining consistency in their batting order.

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