Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has impressed everyone with his slow but valuable innings when there was nothing to help his team post a respectable score against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2026 clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium was slow and tricky, and Gujarat Titans fast bowlers made the most of the conditions to silence the crowd and put Chennai Super Kings under immense pressure in their IPL 2026 clash on Saturday, April 26.
GT bowlers destroy CSK top order in IPL 2026 clash, Ruturaj Gaikwad stands tall
GT captain Shubman Gill won the toss and asked CSK to bat first on the tough Chepauk surface. If Ruturaj Gaikwad had won the toss, they could have been in a better position. Well, the five-time IPL champions got off to a nightmare start as Sanju Samson was out on 11 off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, which was safely caught by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
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Soon after, Urvil Patel was out for just 4 runs and Sarfaraz Khan was out for a duck off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj. The collapse further escalated as Dewald Brevis also failed to make an impact and was out for just 2 runs. CSK found themselves in deep trouble at 37 for 4.
He could score only 28 runs in the powerplay. Amidst all this chaos, Ruturaj Gaikwad stood quietly at one end. He led the team completely as captain, focusing on staying at the crease and gradually building the innings. By the 10th over he had only 18 runs from 26 balls, but his main job was to manage the innings.
Lone warrior Ruturaj Gaikwad takes CSK to 158/7 against GT
After that, he slowly started building some momentum. The right-handed batsman stitched a crucial 59-run partnership with Shivam Dubey (22) to give some hope to the bowlers. Gaikwad completed his half-century in 49 balls, which was his first half-century of the ongoing IPL 2026.
During his innings, he also achieved a special feat by becoming the fourth CSK player to hit 100 sixes in the IPL, joining MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina in the elite list. Gaikwad remained unbeaten after scoring 75 runs in 60 balls. He hit 6 fours and 4 sixes against GT.
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Despite getting no support from anyone except Dubey, Gaikwad single-handedly took CSK to a respectable score of 158/7 on the board in 20 overs, which at one point looked difficult. He fought alone and took the responsibility of saving his team from embarrassment.
Here is how fans reacted to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s slow innings in Chennai:
Ruturaj Gaikwad 74 (60)
Every innings is not about strike rate… some are about keeping the game together under pressure.
When wickets were falling and the momentum was gone, Ruturaj remained calm, took the pressure and gave his team something to fight for.#CSKvsGT… pic.twitter.com/UgJouuFGm2
– CricLive (@CricLive_IND) 26 April 2026
CSK captain leaving the ball in the last overs, have seen this film before too#CSKvsGT #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/O5WJTHOj3T
– Suresh N (@TheDugoutStats) 26 April 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad played a captaincy inning of 74* runs in 60 balls. GT needs 159 runs to win… #cskvsgt #gtvscsk #ChennaiSuperKings #IPL pic.twitter.com/9xKZrdeCeh
– JBCCricket (@jbcricket) 26 April 2026
Well played Rutu #CSKvsGT pic.twitter.com/PZoyTkzgE9
– Danish Kumar (@daanish_25) 26 April 2026
A sharp knock from the captain! The pitch is a minefield, but Rutu is digging deeper. With Brewis gone, it’s all about staying until the end and getting the big finish.
Difficult circumstances, but the captain knows the way! #CSKvGT #IPL2026 #ruturajgaikwad pic.twitter.com/kWOOfET2yE
– WorldTESTCricketHQ (@WorldCricketMW) 26 April 2026
CSK status now #CSKvGT #CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad pic.twitter.com/flF0s44MTR
– Mr. Hudali (@mr_hudali) 26 April 2026
When it’s Virat Kohli: Selfish innings
When it comes to Ruturaj Gaikwad: Perfect anchor #CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/lI8bkt4CSF— ＭＡＨＥ✓Ｈ (@Armahi_) 26 April 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 74*(60)
Serious knockdown when it mattered most. Salute to you, my captain!#ruturajgaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26
– Big Boss (@BIGG_BOSS_GK) 26 April 2026
Well played Captain
You have shown patience and direction in this innings. #ruturajgaikwad #IPL pic.twitter.com/Rp7y0Whgr4
– Mukesh Kariyare (@mukesh_kariyare) 26 April 2026
Ruturaj from 20*(37) to 74*(60)!!
When everyone else failed he was there till the last moment!!
Whatever may be the end result..
Captain lead from the front to at least make it tolerable!Thanks Rituraj #CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad https://t.co/NiJfl0yF04
– Aparna (@Aparna45056805) 26 April 2026
Best innings accelerator for some reason… A very mature innings from the skip, he delivered when it was needed most #cskvsgt #ruturajgaikwad #IPL #csk #sarfaraz #jamie
– MSM (@1708msm) 26 April 2026
Troll the strike rate all you want – Ruturaj Gaikwad played the situation, not the gallery. Cricket is not always about speed, sometimes it is also about control.#CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad pic.twitter.com/reNRVFsEDP
– Harshit Goyal (@HarshitGeo) 26 April 2026
Shocked to see some fans and critics criticizing Ruturaj’s innings.. I mean, are you all wrong?!
Should he have moved faster? Are you kidding me???
They saved us from embarrassing totals of 70-80 and gave us a big score of 158 on the card. To be grateful.#ruturajgaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26– Kai (@KAIY37) 26 April 2026
