Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has impressed one and all with his slow yet valuable innings when nothing was there to help to take his team to a respectable total against the 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 the Chennai Super Kings under immense pressure in the IPL 2026 clash on Saturday, April 26.
Ruturaj Gaikwad stands tall as GT bowlers destroy CSK top order in IPL 2026 clash
The 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 had a nightmare start as Sanju Samson got out for 11 runs after edging a ball from Kagiso Rabada, which was safely caught by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
Soon after, Urvil Patel was dismissed for just 4 runs, and Sarfaraz Khan followed with a duck after getting out to Mohammed Siraj. The collapse further extended as Dewald Brevis also failed to make an impact and got out for just 2 runs. CSK found themselves in deep trouble at 37 for 4.
In the powerplay, they managed only 28 runs. In the middle of all this chaos, Ruturaj Gaikwad stood calm at one end. He perfectly led the side as the captain, focusing on staying at the crease and building the innings slowly. By the 10th over, he had only 18 runs from 26 balls, but his main job was to hold the innings together.
Lone warrior Ruturaj Gaikwad takes CSK to 158/7 vs GT
After that, he slowly started building up some momentum. The right-handed batter added an important 59-run partnership with Shivam Dube (22) to give some hope to the bowlers. Gaikwad completed his fifty in 49 balls, which was his first half-century of the ongoing IPL 2026.
During his innings, he also achieved a special milestone 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 on 75 runs of 60 balls. He hit 6 fours and 4 sixes against GT.
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Despite not getting any support from anyone, except for Dube, Gaikwad took CSK to a respectable total of 158/7 on the board in 20 overs, which looked difficult at one stage, single-handedly. He fought alone and took responsibility to save his team from embarrassment.
Here’s how fans react to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s slow knock in Chennai:
Ruturaj Gaikwad 74 (60) 💛
Not every innings is about strike rate… some are about holding the game together under pressure.
When wickets were falling and the momentum was gone, Ruturaj stayed calm, absorbed the pressure, and gave his team something to fight with.#CSKvsGT… pic.twitter.com/UgJouuFGm2
— CricLive (@CricLive_IND) April 26, 2026
CSK captain leaving ball in the end overs, have seen this movie before#CSKvsGT #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/O5WJTHOj3T
— Suresh N (@TheDugoutStats) April 26, 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad played a captain’s knock 74* off 60. GT need 159 runs to win… #cskvsgt #gtvscsk #chennaisuperkings #ipl pic.twitter.com/9xKZrdeCeh
— Jbccricket (@jbccricket) April 26, 2026
Well played Rutu 💛 #CSKvsGT pic.twitter.com/PZoyTkzgE9
— Danish Kumar (@daanish_25) April 26, 2026
Gritty knock from the Captain! 🫡 The pitch is a minefield, but Rutu is digging in deep. With Brevis gone, it’s all about staying till the end and finding that big finish. 🏏🔥
Tough conditions, but the Skipper knows the way! #CSKvGT #IPL2026 #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/kWOOfET2yE
— WorldTESTCricketHQ (@WorldCricketMW) April 26, 2026
Now Situation of CSK #CSKvGT #CSKvsGT #ruturajgaikwad pic.twitter.com/flF0s44MTR
— Mr.Hudali (@mr_hudali) April 26, 2026
When it’s Virat Kohli: selfish innings
When it’s Ruturaj Gaikwad: perfect anchor 🤡#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/lI8bkt4CSF— ＭＡＨＥ⚡Ｈ (@Armahi_) April 26, 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 74*(60)
Gritty knock when it mattered the most. Hat’s off to you, My Captain!💛#RuturajGaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26
— Bigg boss (@BIGG_BOSS_GK) April 26, 2026
Well played कप्तान 🥹👍
आपने ये पारी से धैर्य और अनुशासन का परिचय दिया है 🙏🔥 | #ruturajgaikwad #ipl pic.twitter.com/Rp7y0Whgr4
— Mukesh Kariyare (@mukesh_kariyare) April 26, 2026
RUTURAJ from 20*(37) TO 74*(60) !!
When everyone failed He was there till last !!
Irrespective of the result at last..
Captain Lead From Front to make it Bearable at least !Thank You Ruturaj 💛#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad https://t.co/NiJfl0yF04
— Aparna (@Aparna45056805) April 26, 2026
The best innings accelerator for a reason… A very mature innings from skip, He delivered when it needed the most🔥🔥🔥 #cskvsgt #ruturajgaikwad #ipl #csk #sarfaraz #jamie
— msm (@1708msm) April 26, 2026
Troll the strike rate all you want — Ruturaj Gaikwad played the situation, not the gallery. Cricket isn’t always about speed, sometimes it’s about control.#CSKvsGT #RuturajGaikwad pic.twitter.com/reNRVFsEDP
— Harshit goyal (@HarshitGeo) April 26, 2026
In shock to see some fans and critics criticising Ruturaj’s knock.. I mean, tf is wrong with y’all?!😮
He should’ve accelerated quicker? Are you kidding me???
He saved us from an embarrassing 70-80 total and gave us a big 158 on cards. Be grateful.#RuturajGaikwad #CSKvGT #IPL26— KAIY (@KAIY37) April 26, 2026
