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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in fantastic form with the willow in IPL 2024. In nine innings, he has notched up 447 runs at an average of 63.86 and a strike rate of 149.50, with one hundred and three fifties.
The 27-year-old, as he has traditionally done, began the campaign quietly before gaining momentum . The right-handed batter had a highest score of 46 in his first four innings. Gaikwad hit form with 67* off 58 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai and followed it up with 69 off 40 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede.
After being dismissed for 17 against Lucknow Super Giants in an away clash, the CSK skipper has played two terrific knocks in his last two visits to the crease. He scored 108* off 60 against LSG and 98 off 54 versus Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chepauk. In this feature, we analyze which of Gaikwad's two recent knocks is the better one.
Comparing the bowling attacks of LSG and SRH
Both of CSK's recent matches against Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad were played at home. So, we need to compare the bowling attacks of LSG and SRH in our endeavor to examine which knock is the better one.
Lucknow Super Giants went into the Chennai Super Kings match with two frontline pacers in Matt Henry and Mohsin Khan, with Yash Thakur coming in as the Impact Player.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was the main slow bowler in the LSG attack, while Marcus Stoinis was the pace bowling all-rounder and Krunal Pandya the spin all-round option in the attack.
Shifting our focus to Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowling attack, they had four frontline pace bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, T. Natarajan and Jaydev Unadkat - the latter two being left-arm pacers. Nitish Kumar Reddy played as the pace bowling all-rounder, while Shahbaz Ahmed was the spin bowling all-round option.
Of the two bowling attacks, Sunrisers Hyderabad's was definitely the stronger one. They had three quality pacers - Bhuvneshwar, Cummins and Natarajan - while Unadkat is also handy when he has a good day in T20 cricket. The LSG trio of Henry, Mohsin and Thakur are decent but not on the same scale as SRH's pacers.
When it comes to spin bowling, Bishnoi has an edge over Shahbaz on paper, being a wicket-taker. But the advantage pretty much gets nullified as the former has not been in great form for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024.
How Gaikwad built his knocks against LSG and SRH
After CSK lost Ajinkya Rahane early against Lucknow, the skipper ensured that the run rate was not affected, as he found momentum early in the innings.
Gaikwad struck two sublime fours off Mohsin in the second over. He then took on Bishnoi in the fourth over and hit him for consecutive fours. Two more fours followed against Henry in the fifth over as Gaikwad reached 37 off 19 at the end of the powerplay.
The CSK captain only needed 28 balls to reach 50, which came with a single against Krunal in the ninth over. In the next three overs, he hit one four each even as Ravindra Jadeja (16 off 19) perished at the other end. Gaikwad's first six came in the 15th over when he clubbed a short one from Stoinis over midwicket.
The Chennai opener entered his 90s by pulling a short ball from Mohsin over square leg for a maximum in the 17th over.
He crossed three figures by clubbing Thakur for a six and two fours off consecutive deliveries, ensuring that he didn't slow down as he approached his landmark. Gaikwad finished his innings with 108* off 60, hitting 12 fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 180.
Against SRH, Gaikwad hit his first four on the last ball of the second over, pulling a short ball from Nitish Reddy over midwicket. Rahane (9) again fell cheaply, but the Chennai skipper built momentum for his side, smacking Shahbaz for consecutive boundaries in the fourth over.
The right-hander struck three more fours in the powerplay and was batting on 33 off 17 after six overs.
Gaikwad reached his half-century off 27 balls, launching a shortish delivery outside off from SRH skipper Cummins over midwicket for a maximum.
After Daryl Mitchell (52 off 32) perished in the 14th over, the Chennai captain hit a maximum in the same over by flipping a slower ball from Unadkat over short fine leg. In the next over, he hooked Bhuvneshwar for a six over square leg and four over the infield.
Consecutive fours followed off his opposite number Cummins in the 16th over. He was looking good for a second consecutive IPL hundred but was caught at long-on off a slower ball from Natarajan in the last over. The Chennai captain ended a fine knock with 98 off 54, hitting 10 fours and three sixes at an excellent strike rate of 181.48.
There's nothing really to pick as a differentiating factor between the two innings. As mentioned earlier, SRH possess a slightly better bowling attack. Also, Gaikwad's knock against LSG ended in a losing side due to a freak hundred from Stoinis.
As such, the Chennai Super Kings captain's 98 against Sunrisers Hyderabad can be considered the better knock but only just.
