Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said that his side would need to “just put it (defeat) behind us and move on” after a eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Rajasthan Royals at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati in its first match of the IPL 2026 season.
Gaikwad’s team was inserted to bat by the home side, and quickly crumbled to 41 for four inside the PowerPlay. The CSK skipper said that he felt the conditions were tough for batters, with the seamers finding movement early on.
“I felt the conditions at the start were tough, especially against Jofra. It was tough against medium pacers, spinners were getting assistance as well,” said the 29-year-old.
He also noted that because of the introduction of the Impact Player rule, teams were no longer certain of what a good score might be, and thus had to keep attacking throughout the innings. “Maybe we could’ve batted deeper but you never know a good score these days so had to keep going,” Gaikwad said.
“I’m not a firm believer of going all out all the way, but you don’t know the par score with the Impact Player, 150-170 is chased down easily.
With CSK set to play its first home game against Punjab Kings in three days time, Gaikwad’s team has to put this defeat behind it quickly. “You just put it behind and move on. The next game is in three days,” said the CSK skipper. “Lots of youngsters in the group, nervy start but good to get a game behind.”
Published on Mar 30, 2026