Visakhapatnam, Apr 1 (IANS): Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad admitted that his team’s inability to get going in the first three to four overs of their chase against the Delhi Capitals (DC) became the difference in the match which they eventually lost by 20 runs at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Blazing half-centuries from David Warner and captain Rishabh Pant helped DC post 191/5 in their 20 overs. In chasing 192, CSK’s reply got off to a shaky start as left-arm fast-bowler Khaleel Ahmed got seam movement early on, taking out Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra while conceding only nine runs in his first three overs.
He eventually ended with figures of 2-22 in his four overs to get the Player of the Match award, while fellow pacer Mukesh Kumar shined at the back-end of the innings by picking 3-21, propelling DC to their first win of the ongoing competition.
"I was talking to Rachin as well. I felt he was missing it by quite a big margin. So, I would say there was some extra bounce and some extra moment as well. I feel first three-four overs, we couldn't get really going and I feel at the end of the day that really was the difference.
"Definitely, at the halfway stage, I felt it was gettable. But after assessing three-four overs, I felt there was extra seam movement which we couldn't capitalize on in the powerplay and I think after that we were just catching up. We were always behind and I felt we didn't really get one big over or two big overs to get the scoring rate down to 10 or maybe nine runs per over," said Gaikwad after the match.
A 68-run stand between Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell gave CSK hope, but DC’s bowlers, with their tight lines and immaculate planning ensured that the partnership went in vain. Speaking about the efforts of his bowlers to keep DC under 200, Gaikwad felt pleased by it.
“I think I was pretty much happy with how they came back after the first six overs. The kind of start they had, I think 60/0 and then restricting them to 191 was pretty much a good effort. I thought, in the first innings the wicket was slightly on the better side and in the second innings there was extra seam movement off the wicket and some spongy bounce as well,” he added.
Gaikwad also felt if CSK hadn’t missed some little things in the match, the result could have been different as the defending champions faced their first loss of the season. “I think to be on the losing side just by a margin of 20 runs, I would say just two or three hits here and there, and in the bowling if we had stopped one or two boundaries, I think it would have made the difference.”
Quizzed if CSK could have got an extra bowler during DC’s innings, Gaikwad felt it wasn’t needed. "Not really (if an extra bowler in the line up with help in powerplay). I feel Deepak is always used to bowling 3 overs and I feel even though the first three overs we came up really well, even till the fourth over I would say.
"The last two overs were slightly more expensive with one no-ball and pretty much you can expect them to adapt. But after two good games you can expect the third game to go slightly below par. So, not much worried."