- By Namrata Vijay
- Mon, 18 May 2026 10:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
CSK vs SRH IPL 2026: Ruturaj Gaikwad faltered during CSK's crucial home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Opting to bat first, he labored for runs and stalled the team's momentum at a critical stage.
Opening alongside Sanju Samson, Ruturaj anchored the innings on a challenging pitch at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. While batters often score at a brisk rate, he managed only 15 runs off 21 balls before falling in the 12th over.
At the time of his dismissal, the home team had scored just 100 runs, with wickets in hand. This put extra pressure on their middle order during a match they could not afford to lose.
Fans criticized his slow innings on social media, as other batters adapted comfortably to the pitch. Despite Gaikwad's strike rate of 71.4, Sanju Samson, Kartik Sharma, and Urvil Patel maintained rates over 150.
WAS THE CHENNAI PITCH TOUGH?
Ruturaj's difficulties stemmed from the demanding Chepauk surface. The Chennai franchise prepared a black-soil pitch to disrupt SRH's aggressive batters.
While this pitch strategy aimed to hinder Hyderabad batters later in the game, Gaikwad also struggled to adjust to the surface.
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Ruturaj struggled against cutters and slower balls from Pat Cummins and Sakib Hussain. Preferring to rotate strike instead of risking his wicket, he limited CSK's chances to accelerate in the middle overs.
He failed to hit a single boundary during his innings, recording one of the season's slowest knocks.