Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t hide his disappointment after Chennai Super Kings’ dismal batting collapse handed Royal Challengers Bengaluru a thumping win. In the post-match press conference, the CSK opener put the spotlight on how his own start—and the early setbacks that followed—set the tone, leaving CSK with too much ground to make up in a chase of 250.
Chennai were in trouble from the outset of the innings, slipping to 30 for 3 after the departure of Ruturaj, Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre. Gaikwad acknowledged that while CSK showed fight later on, the damage done in the first phase ultimately decided the result.
On the way CSK tried to claw back, he praised the impact of Sarfaraz Khan, Prashant Veer and Jamie Overton, noting that their efforts kept CSK in the hunt for a while. Gaikwad then admitted that the responsibility also sat with him at the top of the order, saying: “Well, even I was surprised, to be honest. Great fight by Sarfaraz, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, even to some extent Shivam Dube. So I think, maybe I would have, contributed more top of the order, you never know, we would have chased it down. So definitely it’s on me today.”
Gaikwad also identified a fielding moment that could have swung the contest earlier. He pointed out that Virat Kohli was dropped early, and RCB made full use of that reprieve.
Explaining how the momentum shifted during the middle overs, he said: “We would have had, as you rightly said, if we would have taken early chance of Virat Kohli, I think that was, I mean, maybe we would have had momentum to ourselves. But I think, we still had the game in our hands till the 13th, 14th over, and that’s when the momentum really shifted.”
The decisive turn, as Gaikwad described it, arrived late when Tim David launched a destructive spell against the CSK attack. The CSK captain suggested they were close to removing David earlier, but the opportunity slipped.
Commenting on that key phase, he added: “Well, you’re right, KP. I think, Anshul almost got a wicket of him. Unfortunate to be illegal delivery, but yeah, after that, he just smacked all around the park and, as you rightly said, hats off to him.”
Ultimately, RCB’s late surge—driven by Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar and Tim David—took the game away decisively. For Gaikwad, the message was straightforward: missed chances, a quiet start with the bat, and a brutal finish by the opposition combined to end CSK’s hopes.
