‘Our thinking is clear’ – Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals logic behind sending Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Shivam Dube against LSG

Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Ruturaj Gaikwad revealed the reason behind sending Ravindra Jadeja up the order against LSG. In both the games against the Lucknow-based franchise, Jadeja batted at number 4, ahead of Shivam Dube. In the first match, Jadeja scored a fifty and helped CSK to post a decent total on the board. But in the second match, Jadeja struggled to get going and ended up scoring just 16 runs in 19 balls. 

When Dube came to bat, he blasted the bowlers for fun. The southpaw scored a fabulous 66(27) and was involved in a 104-run stand for the 4th wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad. While the skipper himself scored an unbeaten 108*(60), CSK did not get enough from Jadeja. Following the criticism of the promotion of Jadeja, Gaikwad spoke about the decision. The CSK skipper revealed the logic behind sending Jadeja up the order in both the games.

The star player claimed that in case of collapses in the top order during the powerplay overs, Jadeja was sent to anchor the innings at number 4, holding Dube to finish the innings. “Jaddu (Jadeja) is batting at number 4 since we lost the second wicket within the powerplay…Our thinking is clear that after the powerplay if there is a wicket, Shivam will come out to bat. We can’t force batters to get out after,” said Gaikwad after CSK’s loss against LSG as quoted by India Today.

I knew it would go down to the wire: Ruturaj Gaikwad

CSK conceded their highest-ever run-chase in the history of the league at Chepauk. While many thought 210 to be enough, Gaikwad thought otherwise. The star player claimed that dew made things difficult for the bowlers. He revealed that even in the practice sessions there was dew. Ruturaj claimed that the target was not enough and was just about par and credited LSG for chasing down the target. 

“To be honest, I never thought it was enough (the target). It was just about par with the kind of dew we are experiencing. We saw in the last two practice sessions as well. So I knew it would go down to the wire, probably till the last over. But credit to them, they batted really well,” added Gaikwad as he felt that the match was bound to have a close finish.