IPL 2021 | Plan was to target bowlers who were having an off day, reveals Ruturaj Gaikwad

David Warner struggling his way to a 55-ball 57 made a few suspect that the Delhi wicket on Wednesday was two-paced, but the flawless knock from Ruturaj Gaikwad busted that myth and propelled the Super Kings back to the top of the table. Coming on the back of scores of 33 and 64, Gaikwad followed his oh-so-successful template of starting slowly and shifting through the gears gradually and carved through an SRH attack that had no bite whatsoever. Well-supported by Faf du Plessis, the 24-year-old raced his way to 75, striking 12 fours in the process, to ensure that CSK won a fifth consecutive game in IPL 2021. 

Gaikwad, on Wednesday, looked like a man who’d been batting in Delhi for two months, but the right-hander, post the game, revealed that he made no special preparations. The opener, who was named Man of the Match, revealed that he focused only on two things - to hit the gaps and to target the bowlers who were going through a rough day.

“Think it was little bit two paced, little bit low bounce. Scoring big shots was difficult. It was all about how you hit gaps and hit over the fielders. Just planned who is the better bowler on this surface, who is not,” Gaikwad said in the post match presentation.

“One or two bowlers had a bit of an off day, cashed in on them,” the 24-year-old added.

After starting the season off with scores of 5, 5 and 10, Gaikwad getting axed from the side looked inevitable, but the Maharashtra batsman has since turned his season around astonishingly, amassing 172 runs across the last three CSK games. He expressed disappointment in getting dismissed before hitting the winning runs on Wednesday, but insisted that he is keen to keep contributing to the side in each and every game.

“Means a lot (his highest IPL score). Little bit disappointed couldn't finish it well. Just want to keep performing each and every match.”