On Sunday, March 30, Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings, threw a little shade at his teammate Rahul Tripathi after a tough game. Tripathi has been struggling big time in the Indian Premier League’s 18th season, which has really hurt the team’s batting performance. In their latest match, Chennai fell short by just six runs against the Rajasthan Royals, unable to chase down a target of 183 in Guwahati.
After the game, someone asked Gaikwad why he decided to bat at No. 3. He took a subtle jab at both Tripathi and Rachin Ravindra for not getting off to good starts. “In the past, Ajinkya used to bat at No. 3, and Rayudu held down the middle overs. We thought it might help if I came in later to manage the middle overs, allowing Tripathi to take a swing at the ball from the top,” he explained during the post-match chat.
Gaikwad also mentioned that he didn’t mind batting early during these games because it was a decision made during the auction. “I can take risks when needed and keep the strike moving,” he added.
Once again, Chennai struggled to chase a target over 180, a feat they’ve failed to achieve for the past six seasons, finishing with 176 runs for 6 wickets. Gaikwad put in a solid performance, scoring 63 runs, but it wasn’t enough to turn their luck around as they faced their second straight loss.
In the powerplay, they got off to a decent start, racking up 42 runs for the loss of one wicket, thanks to some good shots from both Tripathi (who scored 23) and Gaikwad. Unfortunately, Wanindu Hasaranga quickly made his mark by taking out Tripathi, caught by Shimron Hetmyer. Shivam Dube was looking dangerous for a moment, hitting a couple of sixes off the Sri Lankan bowler, but then disaster struck for Chennai.
Stand-in skipper Riyan Parag pulled off a brilliant play that shifted the momentum. Even with Gaikwad holding firm at the crease, Chennai kept losing wickets. Hasaranga struck again, dismissing Vijay Shankar for just 9 runs after he had smashed a big six.
While Gaikwad did reach his half-century, it came off 37 balls, and soon after, he fell to Hasaranga too, marking him as the fourth wicket for the spinner. Chennai found themselves in trouble at 129 runs for 5 wickets.
It’s worth noting that Tripathi has played alongside Gaikwad for Maharashtra, and last January, in their Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha, Tripathi batted at No. 3 while Gaikwad opened the innings with Arshin Kulkarni. It’s been an up-and-down start to the season for the Super Kings, and they’ll need to regroup quickly if they want to turn things around.
