New Delhi [India], May 5 : Following his side's win over Delhi Capitals (DC), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad hailed the team's "backbone" Sanju Samson for his match-winning knock and lauded a young Kartik Sharma for playing another useful knock during a run-chase.
From starting the campaign with three successive losses to completing five wins and losses each, CSK have established themselves as genuine playoff contenders yet again. They are currently placed at sixth spot with 10 points. Two matches against a bottom-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and a match each against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) await, with two of these in Chennai. The young unit is finally coming together in the absence of MS Dhoni, who has not yet returned after sustaining a calf strain, and the spin duo of Akael Hosein and Noor Ahmed give them a massive edge on pacers, even slightly conducive to spinners.
Speaking after the match, Gaikwad said that despite losses early on, he and head coach Stephen Fleming felt positive and that the competitiveness offered by them was much better than last year. He spoke on the team's bowling coming together well, despite Anshul Kamboj, their strike bowler, having an off day with figures of 0/49 in four overs.
"Sanju had come along, and the bowling was doing well. We then got a couple of wins, and everyone started to gel together. On the batting side, more than grateful to have Sanju after the tournament he had in the T20 World Cup, he is our backbone, but it is the bowlers who do the job. Akeal and Jamie (Overton) come and silently do the job, Anshul is someone who does his job silently, he had a bad game today, but they have all come well together," he added.
On Kartik, who endured five tough outings where he failed to score even 20 runs in every inning, Ruturaj said that the skillset was always there and he needed some momentum, which he has undoubtedly proved by playing crucial knocks of 54* and 41* in modest chases.
"I think the skillset was already there, no such development, just that he needed some momentum. We were also chasing big targets, and he did not get time. Last match, he got some time, he can play an all-around game and hit the pockets well. He is not a wild slogger, he can rotate strike and hit the pockets, good to get his confidence going," he signed off.
In seven matches, Karthik has made 153 runs at an average of 30.60 and a strike rate of over 127, with a fifty.
Following the match, Kartik called the partnership with Sanju "fun" and revealed that the batter told him that the pitch assisted spinners.
"The pitch was helping the spinners, stopping the ball and turning a lot. I knew it was not a big score, and we could take our time, which we did. (what did Sanju tell him?) Bhaiya said that it was a slow wicket, and told me to do what comes to me, which I did," he said.
On targeting any specific bowler, Kartik said that there were no targets as such, just "playing in a good range and hitting the ball"
Coming to the match, DC opted to bat first and were reduced to 69/5. It was a 65-run stand between Tristan Stubbs (38 in 31 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Sameer Rizvi (40* in 24 balls, with four sixes) took DC to 155/7 in 20 overs, with Akeal (1/19 in four overs) and Noor (2/22 in three overs) producing lethal spells. Later, it was Sanju (87* in 52 balls, with seven fours and six sixes) and Kartik (41* in 31 balls, with three fours and two sixes), who made the lightwork of the chase, sealing the match in just 17.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.
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