Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy was most impressive against RCB: Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar spoke about Chennai Super Kings’ new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s opening victory as skipper following the win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Having taken over the charge from MS Dhoni, the Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings commenced their 2024 campaign on a victorious note as they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets in the IPL opener on March 22 at Chepauk.

Gaikwad was impressive with the bowling changes he employed and the manner in which he showed trust in his players. For instance, he backed Tushar Deshpande at the death despite the bowler taking a hammering with the ball in his early spell. Gavaskar acknowledged Gaikwad's tactical brilliance and was appreciative of his game awareness.

“Absolutely! Your debut as a captain becomes very important. You want to begin your captaincy career well with a win and that’s exactly what happened. What was impressive was his bowling changes. Because when you saw the way he kept on changing Mustafizur; the way he used Mustafizur was absolutely terrific. He kept swapping Deepak Chahar, keeping faith in Tushar Deshpande for that final over. I think seeing that Tushar Deshpande had been taken for 25, there was an opportunity to use another bowler, but he still stuck to Tushar Deshpande, and Deshpande responded with a brilliant final over," Gavaskar tolf Star Sports.

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"So, yes, I think the captaincy was most impressive. And we see over here, he has, of course, MS Dhoni around him, to guide him, tell him and give him the encouragement. Sometimes, that little nod from somebody as experienced and as accomplished as MSD, makes a big difference," he added.

'All that they did was Joseph, Green, Siraj' - Sunil Gavaskar on RCB's faulty bowling plan

Gavaskar went onto explain on what Royal Challengers Bengaluru could have done differently to expect a better result. The visitors had got a flying start courtesy of Faf du Plessis' quickfire knock at the top of the order, however, Mustafizur Rahman muddled the momentum with a double-wicket over fifth over before Deepak Chahar removed Glenn Maxwell as RCB were reduced from 40/0 to 42/3. During their defence, RCB were guilty of bowling indisciplined lines and lengths, allowing the CSK batters to put their chase on track right from the word go.

“Yes, try the short ball by all means, but when it wasn’t working… it looked like that’s all they were looking to do. You had somebody like a Dagar, who had bowled 2 overs for 6 six runs. I know the way the left-hand spinner can be picked for 6, but you got to take a chance. All that they did, Joseph, Green, Siraj, everybody go in short," said Gavaskar while highlighting the missed tricks by RCB in using their bowlers.

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"What was happening was that if you don’t get the bouncer right, you are going to give it a wide, which means you’re giving an extra run, you are going to bowl an extra delivery. So, your bouncer has to be very accurate, and it wasn’t. That one-dimensional tactic was really disappointing," he added. 

Gavaskar's co-panellist and former England batsman Kevin Pietersen reckoned that RCB erred in deciding what to do after winning the toss. While du Plessis opted to post a target, Pietersen felt it would have made more sense to chase keeping in mind the track that was on offer. 

“I would have chased if I was Faf du Plessis. That wicket was an absolute belter. It’s not the normal wicket that you see. Statistics can tell you one thing, and I’ve never been one for statistics. You got to judge situations as you see situations. This was not a wicket for spinners, the seam bowlers had a go here. I think RCB should have chased," he said.

Australia legend Steve Smith shares his thoughts after Chennai Super Kings maintained their strong record at the Chepauk. 

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“Bangalore don’t match up at that ground. CSK played to their strengths. They squeezed throughout the middle. Mustafizur was really good, taking wickets. It was a pretty unusual scorecard, the chase. 37 was the highest score, everyone got a start and spent a bit of time in the middle. I think it’s probably an ideal start for Chennai.”