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Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad believes that their struggle to put up runs in the initial overs proved to be the difference during their 20-run defeat against Delhi Capitals.
After tottering in the powerplay, MS Dhoni went on a rampage and produced some classic vintage hitting in the final over, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Apart from Dhoni's brilliance, CSK batters struggled to leave their mark in the powerplay. A scintillating spell from Khallel Ahmed set the narrative in favour of DC. While Mukesh Kumar stole the show by picking up wickets in key moments of the game. Gaikwad opened up about CSK's initial struggle after the game and said, "I was pretty much happy with the way they (bowlers) came back after the start (powerplay). Restricting them to 191 was a good effort. The pitch was on the better side in the first innings. Second innings there was extra seam movement and spongy bounce. I felt he (Rachin) was missing it by a big margin. We couldn't get going in the first three overs and that was the difference." CSK slowly crawled back into the game, with Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell's 68-run stand. However, Mukesh stood out for DC with his remarkable spell and ensured that CSK remained behind the required rate. "At the halfway stage it was getable. There was extra seam movement and we couldn't capitalize and we were always behind. We didn't get the big over to reduce the run rate," Gaikwad added. Coming to the clash, while chasing a herculean total of 192, after tottering in the powerplay, CSK got back into the game with the help of Rahane and Mitchell's stand. With 72 runs needed in the final four overs, MS Dhoni went on a rampage and produced some classic vintage hitting in the final over, sending the crowd into a frenzy. However, his effortless stroke play wasn't enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat and ensure that CSK remained unbeaten. (ANI)
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