Against an under-strength Gujarat Titans attack, which did not have Prasidh Krishna in the line-up, the Chennai Super Kings did not find a boundary for 32 deliveries after losing two quick wickets. It was not until the 12th over that Chennai reached the 50-run mark.
Ruturaj Gaikwad carried the bat through the innings. In the first 42 balls, he managed only 35 runs, with just two boundaries and 26 dot balls. Seven balls later, he notched up his first fifty of the season, with the 49-ball knock being the slowest-ever fifty in the last three seasons.
Chennai eventually cranked up the run rate post the strategic time-out, scoring over 108 runs in the final eight overs, with Gaikwad himself ending unbeaten on 74. That meant 39 runs in the last 18 balls, where he faced just four dot balls. Yet, the effort was not enough for Chennai to secure a win against Gujarat, who chased it down in 16.4 overs.
Finding himself at the centre of the criticism, Gaikwad, speaking to the broadcaster after the eight-wicket loss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, offered an honest explanation of his approach.
"I got off to a really good start, 10 off 6, and then I thought I would keep that momentum going. But then you saw three quick wickets fall right in front of you. I felt a partnership was needed, as the wicket wasn't playing well. After that, we were trying to target a particular bowler, but another wicket fell. Then I thought, okay, let's just take my time, bat, and rotate strike. On any other day or pitch, I feel I would have rotated strike more, but as I said, I was trying. To see that on the scorecard — a lot of balls and very few runs — it is obviously frustrating," he said.
Gaikwad and Chennai bounced back in the final eight overs. The captain was also aided by a handy six-ball 18 cameo from Jamie Overton as Chennai went past 150.
"Once I got hit, I just thought I would get going. I wanted to see how I could change the momentum, and even if I got out, there were still five or six overs left. So that was the moment I decided to start going," he added.
Chennai also seemed to have misread the pitch. At the toss, Gaikwad said it was dry and did not mind defending the total, implying that spin might come into play later in the innings. But what unfolded was the opposite, as Gujarat Titans fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada made the most of the pace and bounce on offer, reducing Chennai to 28 for three in the powerplay.
"Not expected, to be honest. It's really hard to assess how it will play. In the last three games here, we had some idea — maybe 60-70% — of how it might behave. But this time, we had no clue. By the time we wanted to adapt and change, we were too late. After that, even when we tried, it just didn't come off," Gaikwad said.
It was quite a lengthy conversation that Gaikwad had, and at the end of it all, he still had enough humour to say "no more questions" to the commentators, who were left smiling, admitting they "did not hold back."