Cricket

IPL 2024: Missing out on three key players made a huge difference – Ruturaj Gaikwad after being knocked out

Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad rued injury woes after they were knocked out of IPL 2024. CSK lost their last league stage match of the season by 27 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday.

After winning the toss, CSK conceded 218 runs and had to score 201 to qualify for the last four. However, the reigning champions were restricted to 191-7 by the RCB bowlers.

Gaikwad admitted they should have scored 200 runs to qualify but kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Meanwhile, the CSK captain felt missing the services of key players like Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman made a lot of difference.

While Conway was ruled out before the start of the IPL, Rahman and Pathirana were ruled out after the middle phase of the tournament. Rahman scalped 14 wickets in nine matches whereas Pathirana bagged 13 wickets in six games at an impressive economy rate of 7.68.

Gaikwad said after the loss, “With the kind of injuries we had, missing out on two frontline bowlers, not having Conway at the top of the order as well, I think missing out on three key players made a huge difference. Credit to the CSK staff and everyone who put up a great show for us throughout the season. There were many challenges for us right throughout the first game.”

He added, “Injury to Fizz (Mustafizur), then injury to Pathirana as well, he came back and then again Pathirana missed out. When you have injuries around, you have to get that balance in the team and pick it (the team) for every game. I think this season sums up well where we had to tinker around with our playing XI, considering the injuries and all the illness (of the players) as well.”

Gaikwad feels 200 was a gettable score on the wicket but they could not come up with a collective batting show.

He concluded, “ I think it was a good wicket to be honest, it was spinning and gripping a little bit, but I think 200 on this ground was gettable. We kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it was a matter of one or two hits, sometimes that can happen in a T20 game. Pretty happy with what the target was, to sum up the season, I am pretty happy to have seven wins out of 14 games. Just couldn’t get over the line in the last two balls.”

CSK ended their IPL 2024 season with seven wins and as many losses.

About the Author


Written by DafaNews

DafaNews brings you the most highlighted news in the world of Sports. It serves you up-to-date matches, scores, live streams, fantasy games and quizzes. Our news covers India's prestigious leagues and events – Premier League, Pro Kabbadi League, Cricket World Cup and many more. Follow DafaNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,Telegram and Youtube for more updates.

Related Post
Share
Published by
DafaNews

Recent Posts

Michael Vaughan feels India will miss previous tours’ ‘snarl’ to take down Australia in Border-Gavaskar series

Former England captain Michael Vaughan reckons India will miss the previous tours’ aggressive captaincy of… Read More

November 22, 2024

Deep Dasgupta wants Virat Kohli to play with ‘combative mindset’ against Australia in Border-Gavaskar series

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta has urged Virat Kohli to play with an aggressive… Read More

November 22, 2024

Michael Hussey surprised after Ashwin-Jadeja’s omission in 1st AUS vs IND 2024 Test

Former Australian batter Michael Hussey has shared his surprise after Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja… Read More

November 22, 2024

Cheteshwar Pujara backs ‘experienced’ Virat Kohli to play important role in Border-Gavaskar series against Australia

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has backed experienced Virat Kohli to play a key role in… Read More

November 22, 2024

Sunil Gavaskar questions Nitish Kumar Reddy’s selection, says all-rounder lacks first-class experience

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has questioned Nitish Kumar Reddy’s selection in the opening Test match against… Read More

November 22, 2024

Sunil Gavaskar backs under-fire KL Rahul to find success in Border-Gavaskar series against Australia

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has put his weight behind under-fire KL Rahul to savour success in… Read More

November 22, 2024