“Pretty tough on him [Mukesh Choudhary],” CSK captain Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation. “I would dedicate this win to him. Coming in from that sad situation, it takes a lot of effort mentally. He came back for the team, he knew we needed him. All glory to him. Even we spoke before… we wanted to win the game and glad everyone chipped in and wanted to be there for him.”
Choudhary, playing his second game of the season, bowled four overs on the trot, his figures of 4-0-31-1, helping CSK dismiss MI for 104 in their chase of 208. He had struck with his fifth delivery, bowling the dangerous Quinton de Kock for 7.
Gaikwad suggested that the Wankhede pitch wasn’t easy to bat on and that there was some dryness in it.
“Me and Sanju [Samson] felt it was not coming on nicely,” he said. “Anyway 200-210 was going to be a good score, Akeal [Hosein] coming in for bowling helps a lot, everyone just chipped in really well. Those 20s from Kartik [Sharma] and [Dewald] Brewis helped a lot, it kept the momentum going and Sanju played a magnificent knock [101 off 54 balls], taking us home again. Really thanks to him, he’s been fantastic.”
Gaikwad praised his spinners – Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein – who took combined figures of 8-0-41-6 to wreck MI’s chase. Hosein finished with 4 for 17 to be named Player of the match.
“We’re kind of heading in a direction where we’re trying to cover all bases,” Gaikwad explained. “Khaleel wasn’t available, but Mukesh to start that first over, especially to Quinton, that really set the momentum. To bowl three overs in the powerplay to the likes of Surya [Yadav] and Tilak [Varma], he started really well. Anshul [Kamboj] is always foxing [batters] well, Jamie [Overton] whenever the wicket has pace and bounce, he and Gurjapneet [Singh] can take wickets in the middle for us.
“We always have Noor and it’s always a blessing to have Akeal, if we have an opportunity. Overall, everyone is getting into their roles, settling and I feel everyone’s calm and composed, they know what to do. But I feel we [should] start [the next game] from zero, assessing the pitch, we’ve got a day game as well. Make sure we enjoy this win, keep it aside and ensure we’re ready for the next one.”
