Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad took full responsibility after his side slumped to a heavy defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, extending his streak to seven consecutive defeats as captain.
Chennai Super Kings stayed in the match for most of the innings but lost control at the death, conceding 97 runs in the last five overs as Royal Challengers Bengaluru piled up 250 for 3. Tim David, Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal led the charge with aggressive hitting before the RCB bowlers won by C33runs on Sunday to seal a 4 overs.
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“If I had contributed more, maybe it could have been different. It was definitely on me today,” Gaikwad said after the match.
The defeat put Gaikwad alongside Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh on the unwanted list of Indian captains with seven consecutive IPL losses. Kohli faced a similar run in the 2018 and 2019 seasons with RCB, while Yuvraj experienced it during his stint with Pune Warriors India in 2013. The longest such streak among Indian captains remains with Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma.
Gaikwad’s rout began in IPL 2025 with a defeat to RCB in Chennai and continued into a tough start to the 2026 season, with CSK losing their first three matches.
CSK controlled the game for a long time. Jamie Overton dismissed Devdutt Padikkal for a 29-ball 50 at the start of the 15th over, leaving RCB at 151 for 3. From there, the match took a nosedive.
Tim David and Rajat Patidar took charge in the final overs, adding an unbeaten partnership of 99 runs in 31 balls. David hit 70 off 25 deliveries while Patidar remained 48 not out off 19, putting RCB well beyond CSK’s reach.
The crucial moment came in the 18th over, when Anshul Kamboj thought he had David out, only for the delivery to be ruled a no-ball. The delay proved costly as David seized the opportunity.
“Anshul almost got him. Unfortunately it was a no-ball but then he just struck. Credit goes to him,” Gaikwad said.
He also noted the missed chance when Virat Kohli was dismissed and added that CSK were still in control till the mid-turn.
“If we take that early chance from Virat, maybe the momentum will come to us. We still had the game until the 13th or 14th over, but that’s where it shifted,” he added.
The chase never picked up. Gaikwad and Sanju Samson fell early to leave CSK at 10 for 2 in the powerplay. The slide continued with the side reduced to 108 for 6 at the halfway mark.
Some resistance came from the lower ranks. Sarfaraz Khan hit a blistering half-century while Prashant Veer hit 43 and Overton added 37. Shivam Dube also contributed as CSK pushed past 200, which had not looked likely earlier.
Gaikwad admitted a surprise in the fight but said a stronger top-order contribution could have made the difference.
“I was even surprised we got past 200. Good effort from Sarfaraz, Prashant, Jamie, even Shivam. Maybe if I had done more at the top, you never know, we could have caught up,” he said.
With three defeats to start the season and an extended losing streak from last year, CSK faces early pressure. Their captain has taken responsibility for the team trying to stop the slide.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
06 Apr 2026 0:27 IST
