That's it from Match 67 of the Indian Premier League 2023 which has seen Chennai Super Kings qualify for the playoffs with a commanding win over Delhi Capitals. Switch tabs to watch the next game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants from Eden Gardens Kolkata. We will catch you there. For now, this is AyanChatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Arijit Kundu and AkshayaKrishna Polya alongside scorer/analyst Paras Yadav. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodnight and CHEERS!
Ruturaj Gaikwad: "Obviously, important game. As you said, it was an important game and we had to win it. It makes it more special for me to play this knock in my 50th game. Such a great franchise to be part of and I am glad for the support they give me. The wicket was holding up a bit and with shorter straight boundaries compared to that of square boundaries, I was aiming over the bowler's head. In Chennai, there are longer boundaries and you need to rotate the strike more than hitting the ropes. With Shivam Dube, Jaddu and Mahi Bhai still left in the dugout, I went hard once I was well set. Yeah, Conway is a great partner to be batting with. I am happy to open alongside him. He has improved a lot from the last season. It is difficult to adjust to Chepauk and he has done pretty well. He now knows how to play here in India. Always speaks about which opposition bowler to take down and whom to play out. I am grateful for him."
Player of the Match: Ruturaj Gaikwad
MS Dhoni (Chennai Super KingsCaptain): "Well, I think there is no recipe. Pick the best players and see how they perform. Groom them where they are strong and work on those areas. The management and support staff have been great and everything coming together is important.
The players are important and so are the management. When it comes to death bowling, confidence is a factor. Tushar is more confident. How you execute all comes to confidence. Behind the scenes a lot of things are done behind the scenes. Pathirana is a natural and Tushar has come a long way I feel.
One thing is a bit difficult to find out here is team first. Not worried about team performance. We need those characters and what we see is we have a happy environment. We want to improve in the areas to work and see how it goes. We always strive to improve in the areas that we want to and hope to do better in the coming games."
Active Catch of the Match: Ruturaj Gaikwad
Longest Six Hit in the Match: Ravindra Jadeja (98m)