Ruturaj Gaikwad was the star of the show as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stormed back to winning ways against Sunrisers Hyderabad. This was Chennai’s first fixture after MS Dhoni took over the leadership baton after Ravindra Jadeja stepped aside owing to a poor start to the campaign.
Gaikwad, who had an underwhelming start to IPL 2022, scored a brilliant 99 off 57 balls against Hyderabad, which included six fours and six towering sixes. He and the other opener, Devon Conway stitched a partnership of 182 to give their side a massive boost in the first innings.
During his 182-run opening stand with Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad created a new record for partnerships for the Chennai-based side in IPL history. The pair broke Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis’ previous best of 181 runs against Punjab Kings in the 2020 edition of the league, which was played in the United Arab Emirates.
After scoring this brilliant 99 in MS Dhoni’s first game back as captain of CSK, Ruturaj took a slight dig at his former opening partner and one that left the fans in splits. Ruturaj said, “I think Faf would be jealous a little bit. But it’s okay. It feels really nice to have the record.”
Incidentally, Ruturaj Gaikwad was the star man last season, finishing as the highest run-scorer with 635 runs. He and Faf Du Plessis were a lethal opening pair and were a key part of their title-winning run last season. Du Plessis wasn’t retained by CSK but they tried buying him at the auctions. However eventually, Royal Challengers Bangalore won the bid and made Faf their captain.
Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring thriller
Riding on a record partnership from the openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, CSK posted a mammoth total of 202 for Sunrisers Hyderabad to chase. The opposition got off to a brisk start but lost the plot with two brisk wickets of the final two deliveries of the powerplay.
Kane Williamson tried to hold one end and keep the chase going but his innings went in vain. Nicholas Pooran also launched a counter-attack but by then it was all over as SRH lost the match by 13 runs.
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