IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad Acknowledges Tushar Deshpande’s Role in CSK’s Victory Over SRH

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 78 runs on Sunday night to finish 3rd on the IPL 2024 points table. Skipper Ruturaj Gaekwad scored a brilliant 98 while Daryl Mitchell and Shivam Dubey made significant contributions, helping CSK reach a total of 213 runs. In reply, Tushar Deshpande’s scintillating bowling performance in the Powerplay made the difference for the hosts in their big win. Deshpande put his heart and soul into his bowling, returning figures of 4/27 in three overs. Three of those wickets came in the powerplay, which broke the back of a mighty SRH batting lineup led by Travis Head.

CSK captain Gaekwad admitted that the pacer brought back momentum to the side, which has been missing this season. “One area where we lost momentum in some games was not getting wickets in the powerplay. This is the only way we can put the opposition on the backfoot. Deshpande bowled really well. Their hard work is paying off,” Gaikwad said. With the mist giving the spinners a torrid time, the onus was on Ravindra Jadeja to keep his line and length intact, and the wily spinner also took one wicket for just 22 runs in his four overs.

“Special mention to Jaddu too. In these wet conditions, 20-25 runs in four overs, that was a match-turning spell for me. “I’m not very vocal. Everyone in the dressing room is very experienced and you can’t just go to the seniors and tell them what to do. So I just take a back seat,” Gaekwad said after the win, which moved CSK to third on the points table.

Gaekwad added that at no point was he thinking about a century, saying that he was ‘upset’ with himself for missing a few big shots. “I never even thought about a hundred. I was just trying to make sure we got to 220 or whatever extra runs were possible. Even in the last game I wasn’t thinking about Saw. “I was upset that I missed a few shots. At the break of the innings I thought it would cost us. But in the end, it worked. In the last game we made some mistakes, some loose balls here and there, and weren’t really right in the field. Today we came up with plans, stuck to them and we are the best in the field.”