[WATCH]- Gautam Gambhir Hugs MS Dhoni Following CSK’s Convincing Victory Over KKR

MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, former teammates from the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning team, shared a hug after the conclusion of the IPL 2024 match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (April 8).

CSK secured a clinical seven-wicket victory over KKR at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. KKR batted first in the match but could only manage to score 137/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

The pitch’s slow-turning nature favored the home team bowlers, who consistently troubled the opposing batters. KKR’s batsmen struggled to adjust to the conditions and struggled against bowlers such as Ravindra Jadeja (3/18), Tushar Deshpande (3/33), and Mustafizur Rahman (2/22).

CSK effortlessly achieved the target with consistent performances from their key batsmen. Ruturaj Gaikwad led the charge with an unbeaten 67* off 58 balls, supported by smaller contributions from Daryl Mitchell (25) and Shivam Dube (28).

MS Dhoni (1*) came in towards the end and remained unbeaten as Ruturaj sealed the victory with a boundary in the 18th over. Following the match, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir was seen warmly embracing MS Dhoni with a smile.

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“They know the conditions pretty well, bowled according to the plan”- Shreyas Iyer after the loss against CSK

After the game, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that they misjudged the pitch and missed out on exploiting the promising start they had during the powerplay. Reflecting on the defeat, Iyer stated:

“I personally feel, we didn’t assess it well, phenomenal start but couldn’t capitalise and lost the way in the end, it wasn’t easy scoring runs on this wicket.”

“They know the conditions pretty well, bowled according to the plan, it was a bit tacky, it wasn’t easy for the batters to go from ball one. It changed tremendously after powerplay, but our plans couldn’t go according to it. The wicket changed after powerplay.”

Shreyas continued:

“From the start we got, we thought 160 or 170 would’ve been good and even when they played against RCB, it was similar conditions but when you lose your way, it’s difficult to come back.”

“We have to go back to drawing board and see where we went wrong. We will introspect to come back hard. We know our home conditions better than anyone, we need to stick to our plans, analyse and make the best use of it.”

KKR is scheduled to play against LSG on the afternoon of April 14, while CSK will compete against MI in the evening match on the same day.

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