Lost the match only because of that… Whom did Chennai captain Ruturaj Gaikwad say was responsible? He spoke openly after the match.

New Delhi. The Chennai Super Kings team had got two consecutive wins after a hat-trick of defeats in the Indian Premier League 2026, but they could not maintain this momentum. On Saturday, 18 April, the team lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad by just 10 runs. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad admitted that his team’s weakness in batting in the middle overs decided the outcome of the match. Chasing the target of 195 runs, Chennai team could score only 184 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs.

Despite the defeat, Gaikwad praised CSK’s bowling. Especially after SRH’s explosive start in the powerplay, he said, “As their powerplay went, I was expecting a score of 220-230. We managed to restrict them to 30 runs. A score under 200 was achievable for us.”

In reply, CSK started the chase of 195 runs aggressively, but wickets kept falling at important moments. The middle order tried to handle the innings, but the run rate became very slow. A lot of runs had to be scored in the last overs. CSK team stopped at 184/8. SRH’s Ishan Malinga bowled brilliantly and took three important wickets.

Slowness in middle overs

Gaikwad said that the decline in run rate after the half-way point of the innings changed the course of the match. He said, “Only 80 runs were needed in the last 10 overs. From there only two-three partnerships had to be made. After 10 overs, only 4 runs were scored in the next two overs. It becomes difficult to score 12-13 runs per over in the death overs. The bowling unit has performed brilliantly in the last three matches. Even today, Abhishek batted well in the powerplay, but all the bowlers did a good job.”

Regarding Anshul Kamboj, he said, “He is working hard on his bowling, especially in the death overs. There are very few bowlers who come to the captain himself and tell him that he knows what to do.”