Faf’s innovation with the bat makes my job easier, says Ruturaj

At one stage, KKR was left reeling at 31/5 but Andre Russell and Pat Cummins played knocks of 54 and 66 to keep Eoin Morgan's side in the hunt, but CSK managed to hold their nerve to register a thrilling victory.

Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad has said that Faf du Plessis’ innovative skill with the bat in hand makes his job easier whenever the duo goes out to bat for the franchise.

At one stage, KKR was left reeling at 31/5 but Andre Russell and Pat Cummins played knocks of 54 and 66 to keep Eoin Morgan’s side in the hunt, but CSK managed to hold their nerve to register a thrilling victory. No one from KKR’s top-order managed to stay at the crease for a long time as Deepak Chahar scalped four wickets. In the end, the target proved too much for Morgan’s side to chase.

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“Obviously, it feels good. Icing on the cake is winning for the team. It feels good when you contribute for the team but I think it was great experience. Looking forward to many more knocks. With Faf, it is pretty much easy. He has an innovation skill so he takes on the bowlers so it makes my job little bit easier. Against KKR, it was a matter of taking a bit of time for me.

We were playing on a small ground, we had to keep going. One over I used to take chances, the next over Faf used to take,” Ruturaj told Lungi Ngidi in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of IPL.

Earlier, CSK hammered KKR bowlers all around the park to register a score of 220/3 in the allotted twenty overs. Faf du Plessis remained unbeaten on 95 while Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 64 runs off just 42 balls. Skipper MS Dhoni also scored 17 runs off eight balls while Jadeja dispatched his first and only ball of the innings for a six.

“It was good to get out there, Deepak Chahar was on fire. I just tried to back him up a bit. KKR was flowing at one stage, they were hitting boundaries for fun. Just tried to keep taking wickets at some point. There was a bit of pressure because Bravo has done well for CSK so I had to fill his shoes. It is the game of cricket and this is how it goes,” said Lungi Ngidi.
CSK is currently at the top of the points table with 6 points from four games. The side will next take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday.