After his side’s 27-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said they couldn’t get over the line in the game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gaikwad displayed a sloppy performance against RCB on Saturday. He was dismissed for a golden duck on the first ball of the second inning by Glenn Maxwell. Speaking after the match, Gaikwad said the wicket in Bengaluru was good, and it was turning and gripping for the spinners.

He added that the team faced a lot of challenges in the first game. He further added that CSK missed Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman’s presence in the squad.

The CSK skipper said he is slightly disappointed after his side failed to make their place in the IPL 2024 play-offs.

“It was a good wicket. For spinners, it was turning and gripping a little bit. I was pretty happy with what the target was. To sum up the season, I’m pretty happy with seven games out of 14. Injuries, not having Conway as well–made a lot of difference. Challenges right from the first game. Pathirana got injured, and we missed Fizz as well. When you have injuries, it is difficult to balance the squad. I couldn’t get over the line, but these things can happen. For me, personal milestones don’t matter a lot. After all, the ultimate prize is to win. We couldn’t get it, so personally, I’m slightly disappointed as well,” Gaikwad was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying.

Coming to the match, CSK won the toss and opted to bat first. RCB put on a fine score of 218/5 on the board, with skipper Faf Du Plessis (54 in 39 balls, with three fours and three sixes), Virat Kohli (47 in 29 balls, with three fours and four sixes) putting on a 78-run partnership, setting a fine platform for Rajat Patidar (41 in 23 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Cameron Green (38* in 17 balls, with three fours and three sixes) to put on a 71-run stand for the third wicket.

Cameos from Dinesh Karthik (14 in six balls, with a four and six) and Glenn Maxwell (16 in five balls, with two fours and a six) took RCB to a 200-run plus total.

RCB needed to restrict CSK below 201 runs to qualify for the playoffs and surpass their net-run-rate.

In the run chase of 219 runs and the task of scoring 201 runs at least to book the top four spot, CSK lost two wickets early and were reduced to 19/2. Rachin Ravindra (61 in 37 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six) put up a 66-run stand to bring the side into the game.

RCB sunk CSK to 129/6, but a partnership between Ravindra Jadeja (42* in 22 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and MS Dhoni (25* in 13 balls, with three fours and a six) threatened to take the match away from RCB. However, Yash Dayal defended 11 runs in the final over, restricting CSK to just 191/7 in 20 overs.

RCB is in fourth place with seven wins and seven losses, with 14 points. CSK is in the fifth spot with seven wins and seven losses, but they have slid down to fifth due to a lower net-run rate.