Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad asserted that 170 runs was a "par total", but dropped catches and extra boundaries proved costly for his team against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL match at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai, on Friday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation after tight bowling spells by pacers Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal earned RCB a 50-run victory, Gaikwad said, "To be honest, I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket. It was not that great to bat on. It was a bad day in the fielding; it cost us really badly.
“At the end of the day, when you are chasing 170, you bat differently. You have little bit time when you go in to bat. When you are chasing 20 runs extra on a wicket where you know it is going to be a little bit sticky and it is going to stop after the ball gets old, you have to bat slightly differently in the powerplay. It (wicket) got a little bit slower and sticky. The new ball was sticking a lot until the five overs; do not really know how it happened."
He went on to explain where CSK went wrong.
"Rahul (Tripathi) backed his shots; I went and backed my shots. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. There are times where you have a par score in your mind, and probably when you are chasing 20 runs extra, you always want to be a step ahead of the game. That is what the thinking was, (but it) did not really work out. Still happy that we did not lose by a bigger margin and at the end it was just 50 runs.
Gaikwad called for an improvement in the team's fielding.
“When you have three world-class spinners in your team it’s definitely a different scenario. You want the new batters to face them. That is where the game changes a lot. They just kept going, we dropped catches at crucial times and then there was always an extra six or extra boundary that was coming after that. The momentum kept going and did not stop till the final over.
“There is a long flight to Guwahati (for the match against Rajasthan Royals); we have to turn up mentally. We are going to have bad days in batting and bowling in a tournament like the IPL, but I feel the fielding has to improve a lot and we should come back stronger in the fielding department."
It was RCB's first victory against CSK at Chepauk, the Yellow Army's home ground since 2008.
Coming to the match, CSK won the toss and elected to bowl first. While Phil Salt (34 off 16 balls, including five fours and a six) powered RCB with some attacking shots at the start, Virat Kohli (31 off 30, including two fours and a six) struggled to stamp his authority.
After a 45-run opening stand, Devdutt Paddikal (27 off 14 balls -- two fours and two sixes) played an entertaining cameo and 'Player of the Match’ Rajat Patidar (51 off 32, including four boundaries and three sixes) had some crucial partnerships.
In the end, Tim David (22 not out off eight balls, including a four and three sixes) delivered a magnificent cameo, taking RCB to 196/7 in their 20 overs.
Noor Ahmad (3/36) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Matheesha Pathirana (2/36) was also pretty solid with the ball.
During the run-chase, RCB were sensational in controlling the CSK batters, as Hazlewood (3/21) got Rahul Tripathi and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad in his first over.
Rachin Ravindra (41 in 31 balls, five fours) tried to put up a fight, but Yash Dayal (2/18) and Liam Livingstone (2/28) made sure he did not get any support.
Mahendra Sing Dhoni played a cameo of 30 not out off 16 balls, including three fours and two sixes, but RCB restricted CSK to 146 for 8.
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