IPL 2022: Suresh Raina congratulates former CSK teammates Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu for special knocks vs GT

Gaikwad slammed five sixes and as many fours in his 48-ball 73, while Ambati Rayudu hit 46 off 31 to power Chennai to 169 for five.

Chennai Super Kings on Sunday notched up a competitive 169 for five against Gujarat Titans with Ruturaj Gaikwad rediscovering his lost mojo. The Maharashtra opener and Orange Cap winner of the previous IPL season was going through a lean patch but he hit an authoritative 48-ball 73 against the IPL newbies at the MCA Stadium, Pune.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (L) and Suresh Raina (IPLt20.com | Getty Images)

IPL 2022, GT vs CSK Live Score

Gaikwad's opening partner Robin Uthappa perished on three and Moeen Ali also departed after scoring just 1. But Gaikwad got support from Ambati Rayudu, who scored 46 from 31 deliveries. Rayudu missed out on a fifty but Gaikwad went on to reach the milestone off 37 balls in the 12th over.

The 25-year-old opener was eyeing a big score but picked out Abhinav Manohar at deep backward square. It was his ninth 50-plus score and Gaikwad surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar to top the list of Indians with most IPL runs after 28 innings.

Rayudu also achieved a special milestone as he became the 10th Indian to score 4000 IPL runs. The 36-year-old batter was bought back by Chennai for a hefty sum of ₹6.75 crore in the February auction. He joined the elite 4000-run list comprising Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Ajinkya Rahane.

Both batters were congratulated by their former CSK teammate Suresh Raina. It was so great to see such a stunning partnership on the field @Ruutu1331 & @RayuduAmbati. Congratulations @RayuduAmbati for completing a huge milestone of 4000 runs. Keep going," he wrote.

Gaikwad slammed five sixes and as many fours in his knock, which was a testament to his batting prowess. He has scored 635 runs last year to finish as the top run-scorer of the tournament.

"Good to get some hit under the belt. Little disappointed that I couldn't finish, we are still 10-15 short, but the wicket is on the slower side, so we are looking to field well. There are a lot of positive people around CSK management and set-up, I feel pretty much lucky to be here so they help me to stay positive. Things happen in cricket, just try and stay positive," said Gaikwad in the innings break.

For the Titans, debutant Alzarri Joseph (2/34) took two wickets, while Mohammed Shami (1/20) and Yash Dayal (1/40) claimed one each.