17 April,2022 07:32 AM IST | Pune | Shreeram Gokhale
Ruturaj Gaikwad during CSK’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at DY Patil Stadium recently. Pics/BCCI; IPL
It's back home or rather, home away from home for a number of Chennai Super Kings boys as they take on Gujarat Titans at the MCA Stadium here on Sunday evening. During Chennai Super Kings' two-year suspension in the 2016 and 2017 IPL editions, a number of their team members played for the Rising Pune Super Giants and made Pune their base. They finished among the two bottom teams in 2016, but made it to the Top 2 the following season, losing the grand finale to Mumbai Indians. It's the only other franchise in IPL history that MS Dhoni has played for. Although current CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja was not part of Rising Pune Super Giants, it won't be surprising to see massive support for CSK.
It's also a homecoming for opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, one of the four retained players ahead of the mega auction. The local lad, just like his team, has had a poor start to the season and will be hoping to change his fortunes at a ground he knows better than most of the players involved in Sunday's game. Gaikwad has just 35 runs from five games so far this season and has looked out of sorts. However, the kind of touch player he is, one good knock can change things around.
Chennai Super Kings, having lost four out of the first four games, scored their first win of the season in their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. That would have given the CSK unit a bit of positivity and breathing space. At the same time, they know that taking on table-toppers Gujarat Titans is not going to be an easy task.
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Titans, one of the two new franchises this season, have been in top gear right from the word go. In their only game at this venue, they got the better of Delhi Capitals with opener Shubman Gill playing one of the best knocks of the season. The likes of Gill, skipper Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, right-arm pacer Lockie Ferguson have all won a game on their own for the Titans already this season. And with Mohammed Shami, leg-spinner Rashid Khan, South African David Miller in their ranks, Titans will be high on confidence going into this game. With two teams full of super stars and a pitch full of runs, entertainment is guaranteed for the spectators.
35
No. of runs scored by Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL-15 @ 7.00
