Rudraj Gaikwad Disappointment Continues as CSK Faces Lucknow at Chepauk
The 39th match of the IPL 2024 T20 cricket series kicked off on April 23 at 7.30 pm at Chepauk, Chennai, where defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took on Lucknow, who had suffered a defeat in their last match at home. Lucknow won the toss and elected to bowl first. However, the disappointment for CSK’s new captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, continued as he lost the toss for the seventh consecutive time.
Expressing his disappointment, Gaikwad joked that he needed to start training to win the toss along with his batting practice. “There is no difference. But I need to work on the coin toss. I think I failed it seven times in a row,” Gaikwad said with a cheerful demeanor. He also humorously added, “Expect snow later in the tournament. Don’t know if the pitch will surprise you though.”
One of the major changes in CSK’s playing eleven for this match was the exclusion of opener Rachin Ravindra, who had replaced the injured Davon Conway at the beginning of the season. Ravindra had performed well in the first two matches but failed to maintain his form, causing setbacks for the CSK team. In his place, Daryl Mitchell was included in the team.
Speaking about the change, Gaikwad stated, “There is no difference. But I need to work on the coin toss. I think I failed it seven times in a row. Expect snow later in the tournament. Don’t know if the pitch will surprise you though.”
He added, “So you have to go out on the field and play for yourself. Daryl has replaced Rachin in our team. It is good that the next 3 matches, along with this one, will be played at home. But we also need to win some tosses. However, to win, you need to play good cricket regardless of whether you are batting or bowling first.”
CSK vs Lucknow Playing XI:
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain)
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Daryl Mitchell
- Moeen Ali
- Shivam Dubey
- Ravindra Jadeja
- MS Dhoni (keeper)
- Deepak Sahar
- Tusshar Deshpande
- Mustafizur Rahman
- Matheesha Pathirana
With the match underway, CSK aims to bounce back from their recent setbacks and secure a victory against Lucknow in front of their home crowd at Chepauk.
