The opening game of IPL 2024 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday (22 March) ended in favour of the hosts, as new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led Chennai to a six-wicket triumph.
Restricting Bengaluru to a total of 173/6, Chennai chased the total down in 18.4 overs. Although Gaikwad could only score 15 runs, he looked fairly comfortable while leading the team, with his bowling changes proving to be effective.
Speaking about the team's performance in the post-match press conference, Gaikwad lauded the squad for maintaining control right from the start.
(We had) Total control I would say, right from the start. Probably 2-3 overs here and there, but after that, I feel once the spinners came and Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman) came, we were in total control. I would have loved 10-15 runs less, but I feel at the end they played really well and some good shots to finish it off.Ruturaj Gaikwad
He also lauded Mustafizur Rahman for his crucial spell and termed it as the turning point. "Yes I feel that was really a turning point to get Maxwell and even Faf out and immediately 3 quick wickets. So definitely that was the turning point of the game," Gaikwad said.
Never Felt Any Additional Pressure: Gaikwad
When asked about how his experience was captaining the side, Gaikwad expressed how he enjoyed it and didn't feel any pressure as he had MS Dhoni by his side.
"Well, I have always enjoyed (captaincy). I never felt it had any additional pressure. Right from captaining the state side. Obviously, I had experience about how to go about things and how to manage things. So definitely, I enjoyed it and not even a single time did I feek pressurised about something. Obviously, I had Mahi bhai, so that's a super cool moment," said Gaikwad.
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