'Hopefully, we will have a full house' - Ruturaj Gaikwad expresses elation on return to Chennai's home turf
Chennai lost their season opener against Gujarat Titans by five wickets on March 31 while playing at the latter's home turf at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings are returning to their home turf after four years as they are all set to host Lucknow Super Giants in match no. 6 of the ongoing IPL 2023 on Monday, April 3. Super Kings last played a fixture at Chepauk back in 2019 and hence it is going to be a homecoming for them.
Chennai lost their season opener against Gujarat Titans by five wickets on March 31 while playing at the latter's home turf at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The MS Dhoni-led team had plenty of support that day as there was a 'sea of yellow' at the venue but despite the fan support they failed to get over the line.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was in full flow while opening for the team against Titans as he scored a terrific half-century (92 off 50) and missed a ton by a whisker. His innings included four fours and nine sixes and came at a scintillating strike rate of 184. CSK are currently seventh on the IPL 2023 points table.
Gaikwad seemed excited about CSK's return to their home ground and also expressed his sentiments on the potential opportunity of playing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the first time in CSK's colours.
"I was quite excited when it was announced that it would be a home-away format and we would play at the renovated Chepauk stadium. Some players have played here before, and some, like me, are playing for the first time. Hopefully, we will have a full house," said Ruturaj at the pre-match press conference as quoted by Chennai Super Kings.
Ruturaj also touched upon the fact that how significant it is for a team to get off to a positive start and being an opener he has to shoulder that responsibility.
"Yes, it does, but as an opening batter, there is always the responsibility to give a good start. You might have six or 11 batters, but if you get a good start, converting those starts by batting till the 10, 15 or 18th over is important. That is the role of the top three in the T20 format."
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