Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag feels Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni’s mantra is working out for their opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played a match-winning knock against the Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium. The 26-year-old played one of his best knocks in the cash-rich league as he scored 79 runs off 50 balls to help his side seal a spot in the playoffs of IPL 2023.
Chennai Super Kings openers have provided their side with a solid start, with a lot of stakes to claim in the match, as they formed an opening partnership of 141 runs setting up the right platform for the middle-order batters to cash in to put on big total on board in a tough Delhi Conditions.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag reckons that MS Dhoni’s piece of advice would have helped the CSK opener as he would always insist his players not throw the wickets in the initial overs as they can go big after settling in the innings.
“MS Dhoni always says whether he is playing for India or Chennai Super Kings, that do not throw away wickets in the first 10 overs. You might score just 70 runs in the first 10 but it is okay if you do not give away wickets. He feels that one can always score in the final 10 overs of the game,” Sehwag explained Dhoni’s process after CSK’s win vs Delhi.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway started innings brilliantly as they attacked the Delhi Capitals bowler from the start and they took on the DC spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Lalit Yadav in the middle overs to put pressure on the Delhi Capitals side as could not make comeback from an assault of the CSK Openers.
I Think Ruturaj Gaikwad Missed His Century – Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag believes that it is the right template for Ruturaj Gaikwad to start the innings, as he can take some time to settle down and take on the bowlers and reckons that he missed the well-deserved century and highlighted three sixes of DC primary bowlers Kuldeep Yadav in the game.
“So, for him (Ruturaj) this would have been a perfect start. So Ruturaj knew that he could take time and build his innings. So Ruturaj took his time, played 20 balls, and then started hitting. I think he missed his century. Like he hit 3 sixes off Kuldeep Yadav, he could have done it against someone else and reached his century,” Sehwag said after the match.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is in fine form in this edition of the cash-rich league scoring 504 runs at an average of 42 and will look to continue fine going into the business end of the tournament to prove his worth in the knockout stages for the four-time champions. Chennai Super Kings will return to home soil for the qualifier 1 clash against Defending Champions Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.