The 2024 edition of the IPL is underway and holders Chennai Super Kings got their title defence off on a winning note as they registered a 6-wicket home triumph over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
The match was notable for the fact that it was new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s first match at the helm of the five-time title winners as he led them to a memorable opening day win over the visitors from Karnataka.
Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar was mighty impressed by the 27-year-old’s leadership as he lauded the CSK opener for his captaincy calls.
“Your debut as a captain becomes very important,” Gavaskar began.
“You want to begin your captaincy career well with a win and that’s exactly what happened,” he added.
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Gavaskar expressed that he was particularly impressed with the manner in which Gaikwad handled the bowling changes.
“What was impressive was his bowling changes,” the 74-year-old elaborated.
CSK new recruit Mustafizur Rahman starred for the hosts on the day as he picked up a four-wicket haul to destabilise the RCB top order.
“Because when you saw the way he kept on changing Mustafizur; the way he used Mustafizur was absolutely terrific,” the iconic batter said.
Gavaskar also opined that Gaikwad did well to stick to Tushar Deshpande in the final overs, despite the pacer giving away 25 runs in the 18th over of the innings. The seamer did well int he final over as he limited RCB to just 9 runs off the ultimate over.
“He kept swapping Deepak Chahar, keeping faith in Tushar Deshpande for that final over, he added.
“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. So, yes, I think the captaincy was most impressive,” Gavaskar continued.
MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy to the youngster a day before the curtain-raiser in a surprise move, and Gavaskar felt that the presence of the World Cup winner on the field to support the new skipper was a positive for the side.
“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 said.
Gavaskar went on to add that he felt RCB’s over-reliance on the usage of short deliveries, despite the tactic not providing yield, proved counter-productive for Faf du Plessis and Co.
“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,” Gavaskar revealed.
“All that they did, Joseph, Green, Siraj, everybody go in short. 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,” the Mumbai icon concluded.
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