After producing one of the slowest innings of the Indian Premier League 2026 season, Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad pointed towards the bowling unit as the key reason behind CSK’s defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad in their final home game of the campaign on Monday, May 18.
Batting first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in a must-win clash, Gaikwad endured a disastrous outing with the bat. The CSK captain managed just 15 runs off 21 deliveries, striking at barely 71.4 on a night where almost every other batter around him scored at more than double that rate.
While Sanju Samson, Kartik Sharma and Urvil Patel all attacked at strike rates upwards of 160, Gaikwad’s innings completely stalled Chennai’s momentum in the middle overs and played a major role in restricting the side to 180/7 in 20 overs.
CSK eventually lost the game by five wickets as SRH chased the target down in 19 overs to qualify for the playoffs.
RUTURAJ GIVES BIZARRE EXCUSE
However, when asked after the game where CSK could have improved, Gaikwad did not point towards the batting performance and instead highlighted the inability of the bowlers to build pressure after taking wickets.
“I think nothing actually, just cashing in on the opportunity right after you take a wicket. That’s where you want to kind of build pressure on the opposition. I think we just weren’t able to do that, especially after losing a wicket,” Gaikwad said in the post-match interview.
The comments did not go down well with fans, many of whom were already frustrated with the CSK captain’s knock in a virtual knockout game. Several supporters criticised Gaikwad on social media after the interview clip went viral online.
“In the post-match interview, Ravi Shastri tried hard to make Ruturaj Gaikwad realise that he played too slow and needed to increase his strike rate, but bro was just not ready to agree,” one fan wrote on social media.
Despite the defeat, Gaikwad remained optimistic about the future of the franchise and backed the younger core of the squad to bounce back stronger next season.
“Given the team that we had, the limited squad and whatever best combinations we had, I’m still proud and I still feel we did well,” Gaikwad said.
“Well, definitely. We are building up. I think there are a lot of positives, to be honest. Sanju’s addition is a great sign. He’s playing really well for us. Kartik Sharma, once again, played a great knock today. So I think we are building,” he added.
CSK vs SRH, IPL 2026: Highlights | Scorecard
Chennai Super Kings now have 12 points from 13 matches and their playoff qualification hopes are hanging by a thread. SRH’s win on Monday confirmed playoff qualification for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, SunRisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans.
The race for the final playoff spot is now between five teams – CSK, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. Except Rajasthan, every side remains dependent on other results heading into the final week of the league stage.
CSK will play their final group-stage match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on May 21.
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