Finally... The big promise that Ruturaj Gaikwad had, converts into a significant contribution. This is a mighty fine innings from him, and it must feel on top of the world to perform like this after being put under the pump heavily by previous failures and a captain telling the world that 'he did not see the spark in you that was required to push the experienced guys out of the XI'. Hope this innings leads to greater things for Ruturaj in the IPL and with CSK in the upcoming years. Pretty hopeful that we see him a lot more consistently now in the CSK XI.
I don't care about the qualification chances. To me, that's done and dusted and CSK don't deserve to qualify this season. For me, what these upcoming games are is about finding the right players for 2021. Ruturaj performing like this makes us not need Watson and that in turn opens up an overseas spot. We used Mitchell Santner today and he bore fruit. Find the balance and get ready for 2021.
Solid performance from CSK on a pitch that resembled Chepauk's normal conditions well. Bodes well for the upcoming season if they can get a few more tweaks done in the off season. Gaikwad did a great job anchoring one end while the others went aggressive at the other. This is where RCB failed IMO, both Kohli and AbD looked to accumulate and get set for a big finish, works well when both fire but does not look good at all when neither succeed. Chahar's showing yet again that he is a good option to have for the death overs, surprised that he wasn't used much previously after proving his credentials last season in the absence of Bravo.
The bowling for RCB was poor, whether that was down to failure of strategy or execution is something to be seen. Too many quicker deliveries with both pace and spin when you should have looked to take pace off the ball. Nice to see that Sam Curran's been working on a slower ball, feel like that is the one weapon that he is lacking in his arsenal.
Dhoni has been grooming Sam Curran to become a death bowler. Was evident in that match against Delhi Capitals where Sam Curran was bowling those wide yorkers and slower balls and Dhoni was animatedly applauding from behind the stumps. Sam Curran almost won CSK that match and if only Bravo was not injured, we'd have won that game despite dropping 4 matches off Dhawan.
I was surprised that Chahar wasn't used as much in the death this season. He was being groomed for death overs in the previous season by Dhoni where Chahar was given chances though he was a specialist Powerplay bowler.