Ruturaj Gaikwad fell short of one run in gifting MS Dhoni a perfect welcome back to captaining Chennai Super Kings. The opener became the fifth player in IPL history to be dismissed at 99. He and Devon Conway (85 off 55 balls) helped the defending champions post 202 runs at the MCA Stadium, Pune.
Gaikwad and Conway put up an 182-run opening stand, the highest for CSK, before the former was dismissed on 99. The 25-year-old slammed four boundaries and six maximums during his 57-ball stay at the crease. He tried to slash a short ball by T Natarajan over backward point only to find Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s hands.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad, disappointed, put his head down and walked back to the dug-out. SRH players came to him, patted his back for the opener deserved a century.
His opening partner Conway, playing only his second game of the season, made an unbeaten 85 off 55 balls studded with eight hits to the fence and four maximums.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/22) was the best bowler on display, while pace sensation Umran Malik had a really bad day in office, having conceded 48 in his four overs. T Natarajan (2/42) picked up two wickets but went for runs.
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“The game plan was pretty simple. The wicket was on the slower side, so I took my time to get in. I have not batted with him (Conway), but I have spent a lot of time with him. Whatever I wanted from him, I was pretty upfront. It (the pitch) was a bit slower, but I feel if you get set, you can score here. I was trying to maintain the balance, so I tried to be neutral. It’s pretty much usual, the thought process was on being focussed on the process. I am pretty confident we will defend it,” Gaikwad said after the first innings.
