Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t hide behind excuses as he issued an absolutely raw and unfiltered reaction to the five-time champions’ defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Monday at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The third fixture of the 19th edition of the T20 tournament proved to be a no-contest as the inaugural champions of the competition cruised home in the chase of 128 with eight wickets in hand and 47 balls to spare.
The contest started with Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag winning the toss and opting to bowl. The hopes were high from the CSK batting lineup, even if it was devoid of Dewald Brevis and MS Dhoni. However, Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger made the ball talk under overcast skies, leading to the downfall of Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ayush Mhatre inside the powerplay.
CSK never recovered from this early jolt, and it was down to Jamie Overton’s knock of 43 that CSK went past the 100-run mark. Rajasthan did not break a sweat in chasing the target as 15-year-old wonder Sooryavanshi smashed 52 runs off 17 balls.
Gaikwad said that he was not frustrated with the result; however, he pinpointed that his team could have adapted to the conditions better, as the ball was moving around for quite some time.
“I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra and Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths, and even after that, to a medium-pacer, it was slightly tough. You could see that even the spinners were getting some assistance. Yes, we would have been better in batting; we would have taken the game deep, shown some batsmanship, maybe take it till 150-160,” Gaikwad told the broadcaster.
“But, nowadays, you never know what’s a good score, so you just have to keep going. So I think it just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side. So not frustrated at all,” he added.
‘Lot of youngsters’
Gaikwad, who scored just 6 runs off 11 balls against the Royals, said his team would recover quickly from this loss, and the squad won’t feel the burden of the loss, as there are a lot of youngsters in the team.
The 29-year-old stressed the importance of showing better batting in the following games, saying his team needs to adapt to the situation and not come in with any preconceived notions.
“We’ve got a game in another three days. Make sure that everyone is in a good headspace. One good thing is, a lot of youngsters in the group. So, probably a nervy start for everyone, but good to get a game behind and good to start with a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, it will be just an improvement after this,” said Gaikwad.
“Today it didn’t work, but we can be better in batsmanship. You have to be positive, especially when you’re batting first. If conditions are good, you never know, the same batting line-up can put up a good score,” he added.
CSK will next face the Punjab Kings on Friday, April 3.
