Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 5 : After his side's 28-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Sunday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said the wicket was slow at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Gaikwad played a 32-run knock from 21 balls at a strike rate of 152.38. He hammered 4 fours and a six during his time on the crease.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Gaikwad pointed out the pitch in Dharamsala had "low bounce.
"Everyone believed the wicket was slow. Even low bounce. Just that the start we got, we were thinking of pushing till 180-200. After losing wickets, thought 160-170 was a good score," Gaikwad said.
The CSK skipper talked about Simarjeet Singh and said he did not get too much chances but it's never too late for him.
"He (Simarjeet Singh) didn't get too much chances, but it's never too late. Were thinking of going with impact batter, but then we thought the batter will give 10-15 runs, but he could give 2-3 wickets," he added.
Simarjeet picked up two wickets and gave 16 runs at an economy rate of 5.30 in his 3-over spell.
Recapping the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to field first. CSK lost their wickets at regular intervals. It was knocks from Ravindra Jadeja (43), Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell (30) that took CSK to a respectable 167/9 in their 20 overs.
Rahul Chahar (3/23) and Harshal Patel (3/24) were the pick of the bowlers for PBKS. Arshdeep Singh got two wickets while Sam Curran got a wicket too.
In the run-chase, PBKS lost two wickets early, with Tushar Deshpande (2/35) striking for Men in Yellow, but Prabhsimran Singh (30) and Shashank Singh (27) helped them recover with a 53-run partnership. However, Ravindra Jadeja (3/20), Mitchell Santner (1/10) and Simarjeet Singh (2/16) helped CSK make a stunning comeback and restrict Punjab to 139/9 in their 20 overs.
Jadeja received the 'Player of the Match' performance for his three wickets and a knock of 43.
CSK has gone up to third place in the points table with six wins and five losses, giving them 12 points. PBKS is in the eighth spot with four wins, seven losses and just eight points.