Ruturaj Gaikwad now has 508 runs from 10 games, eight ahead of second-placed Virat Kohli.
New Delhi: A day after being omitted from India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad, Ruturaj Gaikwad displaced Virat Kohli at the top of the most run-getters list after the Chennai Super Kings captain scored 62 against Punjab Kings at Chepauk on Wednesday. At a time when most of his teammates put up a flop show, Gaikwad led from the front with a 48-ball knock that included five fours and two sixes. His half-century led CSK to 162/7 in 20 overs.
With his third fifty on the trot, Gaikwad now has 508 runs in 10 games. Kohli moves to second spot with 500 runs from the same number of games. Asked to bat first, Gaikwad and his opening partner Ajinkya Rahane (29, 24b) added 61 runs for the opening wicket but they consumed 49 balls for it.
The slide of CSK began once Punjab Kings brought their spinners on immediately after the powerplay that yielded 55 for no loss. Rahane tried to slog sweep Harpreet Brar but his skier ended in the hands of Rilee Rossouw in the deep.
But the left-arm spinner inflicted a bigger blow in the next delivery, trapping Shivam Dube, who was named in India’s T20 World Cup squad, leg before for a first-ball duck. Dube, promoted to No. 3 to counter spin, failed to connect an almighty heave off a fuller ball on the middle-stump by Brar, and he had to walk back despite seeking help from DRS.
For a team that generally bosses the middle passage between the seventh and 15th over at a run-rate of 10.6, the CSK was a shadow of their marauding self, managing just 47 runs in that period against Punjab Kings. A big chunk of credit should go to two Punjab spinners — Brar and Chahar — who exploited a slow track to the hilt to return with combined figures of 33 in eight overs for four wickets.
The right-hander brought up his third fifty in a row in this IPL with a well-timed six off Curran over long-on and it was also the first six in CSK innings as they took 20 runs of that over. CSK made 60 runs in the last five overs as Moeen Ali (15, 9b) helped Gaikwad to add 38 runs for the fifth wicket. Like in previous games, MS Dhoni once again with just an over left. He smashed a six and four off Arshdeep Singh.