Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, and pacer Deepak Chahar (4/29) were the architects of the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) 18-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 15th game of the ongoing Indian Premer League (IPL 2021) at the Wankhede Stadium Mumbai on Wednesday (April 21).
Du Plessis hit a splendid knock of 95 runs off just 60 balls while Gaikwad also played a magnificent knock of 64 runs off 42 balls, as well as, the two stitched a 115-run opening partnership to help Chennai Super Kings (CSK) amass 200-plus runs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mumbai.
The three-time IPL champions have successfully defended the total 220 thanks to Deepak Chahar’s 4/29 and Lungi Ngidi’s 3/28 against KKR in the 15th game of the IPL 2021 in Mumbai on Wednesday.
After the win, the young Gaikwad hailed Du Plessis, saying the veteran South African batsman’s ability to play innovative shots and take on the bowlers made his “job easier” at the other end against KKR.
Gaikwad told Ngidi in a video posted on the IPL website: “With Faf, it is pretty much easy. He has an innovation skill so he takes on the bowlers and it makes my job a little bit easier.”
The 24-year-old continued, “Against KKR, it was a matter of taking a bit of time for me. We were playing on a small ground, we had to keep going. One over I used to take chances, the next over Faf used to take. It was just having each other's knowledge and knowing each other very well.”
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He had a breakout IPL season last year, but this year, he had been struggling to fire, managing just 20 runs in three matches before the CSK’s last IPL 14 game against KKR and he was happy to return to form.
Gaikwad added, “Obviously, it feels good (to be back among runs). The icing on the cake is winning for the team. It feels good when you contribute to the team but I think it was a great experience.”
Meanwhile, Ngidi, who played his first game in the ongoing season against KKR, said he felt pressure as he was to fill the shoes of the highly successful Dwayne Bravo, saying the West Indian all-rounder is teaching him to bowl his slower ball in death.
The South African pacer further said: “It was good to get out there, Deepak Chahar was on fire. I just tried to back him up a bit. KKR was flowing at one stage, they were hitting boundaries for fun. Just tried to keep taking wickets at some point.”
Ngidi signed off, “There was a bit of pressure because Bravo has done well for CSK so I had to fill his shoes. I've worked very closely with Bravo on the slower balls in the death. One of his slower balls he is teaching me for a long time, got us a wicket. It is the game of cricket and this is how it goes.”
(With PTI Inputs)
