In the T20s, the transitional period from a fiasco to a bigwig for a player is not prolonged. In a gleaming franchise-based league like the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the franchises alter the core team frequently, the dynamics of Chennai Super Kings are distinctively different. Their skipper MS Dhoni has played a vital role in keeping up the core team.
After CSK-opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s continuous failure in their first three fixtures, many were prophesying his exclusion from the fourth game. Turning down such predictions, MS Dhoni gave him the job again. This time, Gaikwad changed the fortune of the game with his 115-run stand with Faf du Plessis for the first wicket. Gaikwad bludgeoned 64 off 42 balls.
Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t look rattled – MS Dhoni
Speaking at the end of the game, MS Dhoni said that the youngster didn’t look rattled even after a couple of low scores in IPL 2021. The former India skipper said he has been applying psychology all his life that has yielded results.
Praising Gaikwad for his innings, MS Dhoni said, “Rutu showed his class in the last IPL. You always need to assess where he is mental. Once when he was off guard, I asked him ‘how are you feeling today?’. When you ask a question like that, you wait for the reactions, you see what’s in his eyes.”
“There was enough in his reactions to suggest he wasn’t rattled. That’s what I’ve been doing all my life (applying a bit of psychology) but in a good way,” he added.
Ruturaj Gaikwad even took on KKR’s Aussie bowler Pat Cummins exquisitely. He made the fans, commentators drool over his brilliant drives in Cummins’ over. After enduring substandard form, Gailwad seemed to have repaired Chennai’s issues with the opening slots. After their three consecutive triumphs in four games, CSK has climbed to the top spot with 6 points.
Last year, the men in bright yellow looked faded and could not grab any spot in the playoffs. For the first time in IPL, CSK were out of playoffs. In 14 editions, CSK has won the title thrice in 2010, 2011, and 2018.