Gaikwad's captaincy stint got off to a positive start as CSK defeated RCB by six wickets.
Asked to bowl first, CSK restricted RCB to 173/6 in 20 overs. Mustafizur Rahman starred with the ball, returning with the figures of 4 for 29 in his four overs.
In reply, Rachin Ravindra laid a solid foundation with a blistering 37 off just 15 balls. Despite RCB's efforts to snatch wickets, Shivam Dube's unbeaten 34 off 28 balls and Ravindra Jadeja's 25* off 17 balls propelled the hosts over the line with eight balls remaining.
After the victory, CSK skipper Gaikwad described the dismissals of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell as the big turning point.
RCB raced to 33/0 in just three overs but Du Plessis and Maxwell lost their wickets within the span of an over between the fifth and sixth to leave the visitors reeling at 42/3.
“Total control I would say, right from the start (apart) from 2-3 overs. Would’ve loved 10-15 runs less but I think they played really well towards the end. I feel that was a big turning point to get Maxwell and Faf out. We got three quick wickets and it helped us control the next overs, that was the real turning point,” Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation.
Ruturaj Gaikwad took charge as CSK captain from MS Dhoni on the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, and he revealed that he never felt any additional pressure.
“I’ve always enjoyed it (captaincy), never felt it as an additional pressure. I had experience on how to handle it, never felt any pressure, obviously had Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai as well,” he added.
Gaikwad acknowledged the natural strokeplayers in his team and heaped praise on Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 27 runs off 19 balls with a couple of sixes.
“I think everyone in our squad are natural strokeplayers, I think even Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) is playing really positively. Everyone knows their roles and which bowlers to take on. Role clarity really helps. Two-three things to work on, everyone batted well but I think if someone from the top 3 batted till the 15th over it would’ve been even easier,” he remarked.
CSK will next face Gujarat Titans (GT) in their second IPL 2024 match at Chepauk on Tuesday (March 26).