Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
The 67th game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) featured a clash between the David Warner-led Delhi Capitals and the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday, May 21.
Coming in to bat first, Chennai showcased an excellent display with the bat; once again, it was Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad who led from the front, as they have done on numerous occasions in the IPL 2023. Seeing the exceptional batting performances, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra picked Ruturaj Gaikwad as his MVP for the game.
Gaikwad smashed 79 runs in 50 deliveries and has been one of the most consistent performers for the four-time champions in the IPL 2023. Having played 13 innings in the tournament so far, Gaikwad has amassed 504 runs to his name, and his performances have been crucial for Chennai in making it to the knockout stages of the tournament. Through his 79-run knock, Gaikwad now finds himself in the seventh spot in the race for the IPL orange cap, with Conway sitting in third place.
Witnessing the 26-year-old’s knock against Delhi Capitals, Chopra branded the Indian batter as the ‘crown prince’ of the Super Kings family. He also opined that Devon Conway batted brilliantly, however, Gaikwad was just in a league of his own.
“The most valuable player is Ruturaj Gaikwad, the crown prince of the Super Kings family. Devon Conway was an equally good candidate. If you want, you can give it to both of them, but when Ruturaj was batting, he was in a different league,” Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“There was a small phase between the sixth and ninth over where I felt things might get stuck, but after that, he hit a six, and then sixes one after the other. The three sixes he hit against Kuldeep Yadav on a tough batting surface—I didn’t feel this pitch was flat,” he added.
Through Conway and Gaikwad, Chennai posted 223 runs on the board in the first innings, and the bowling attack of the visitors did well to limit Delhi to a total of 146 runs as Chennai won the game by 77 runs and made it to the IPL 2023 playoffs.