Chennai, April 3 (IANS) Ruturaj Gaikwad felt Chennai Super Kings had put up a strong total on a surface that offered assistance to bowlers, but admitted their inability to build sustained pressure with the ball proved costly in the end as they suffered their second defeat in a row against Punjab Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

“I feel it was a really good score, to be honest. The wicket was good for fast bowlers. But for the spinners, it was gripping a bit. On this ground with big boundaries, it was a very good score,” Gaikwad said after the match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.

CSK’s innings had a shaky start, with Sanju Samson (7) falling early yet again, exposing his struggles against movement. Amid the early setbacks, Mhatre took charge, showing great intent and preparation, especially against short balls. Having worked on his pull shot, he confidently took on the pacers, racing to 59 off 32 balls inside nine overs, including four fours and five sixes.

While Mhatre dominated, Ruturaj Gaikwad (28 off 22) struggled to accelerate, falling at a time when CSK needed momentum. Mhatre’s dismissal proved to be a turning point. At 123, Mhatre had scored 73 of those runs — nearly 60% — highlighting CSK’s over-reliance on him as the rest of the batting managed just 38 off 32 balls, with 12 extras.

Sarfaraz Khan then injected late momentum with an inventive cameo, using ramps and deft touches to counter both pace and yorkers, striking at 266. Though Dube initially struggled, he finished strongly, anchoring the death overs with a composed unbeaten 45. CSK’s 209/5 also marked their first 200-plus total at Chepauk since April 2024, signalling a return to their high-scoring best.

Explaining the decision to bring in Rahul Chahar as the impact substitute, Gaikwad pointed to the team’s bowling combination and conditions. “We felt we had three seamers going in. We had good wrist spinners bowling post the Power-play. Slight off day for both of them. That was the thought process.”

Assessing the bowling performance, the CSK skipper highlighted a lack of pressure at key moments. “I think a mixture of both. We executed really well. But we didn’t execute well at the right time. The pressure didn’t really build. It went to 11, and a couple of good overs could have climbed it to 12 and 13. We couldn’t build pressure with the ball.”

Despite the defeat, Gaikwad chose to focus on the positives from the game, particularly individual performances. “Definitely a tough one. But as I said, lots of positives. Ayush batted really well. Having that confidence in him going ahead. Shivam also played very well. Bowling was a bit off today.”

On his own innings, Gaikwad said he was adapting to the team’s needs in the middle. “I’m feeling well. It’s just about adapting to the role that the team needs. Since the wicket was gripping a little bit and Ayush was going well at the other end, I thought of just playing at the other end. But got out at the wrong time.”

–IANS

hs/bsk/