Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, securing their second win of IPL 2026. CSK put up 192/5 and then restricted KKR to 160/7.
CSK skipper, who has been struggling for form reiterated that he feels positive and that there is a big knock just around the corner. Gaikwad stated that CSK’s turn in fortunes eased his mind and that he would follow suit going ahead in the tournament.
“Well firstly, I think, good to be on the winning side after a long time. I felt it was getting into my head even when I was batting, but after the last game, felt a bit relaxed,” he said.
“I feel I’m feeling really good. Just make sure that do whatever the team needs, whatever the situation needs.”
“And I
feel even mentally, I’m feeling really well, feeling positive, and just a big, a big knock is just around the corner, but as long as the other guys are just covering up for me definitely I’ll do it when it’s needed,” he added.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed cheaply, caught in the deep by Rovman Powell off Anukul Roy after scoring just 7 from 6 balls.
Ayush Mhatre then joined Sanju Samson and blazed his way to 38, smashing six fours and two sixes. His knock helped CSK reach 72 in the powerplay, before he fell on the final delivery of the sixth over, caught in the deep by Ramandeep Singh off Vaibhav Arora.
South African youngster Dewald Brevis came in next and steered CSK beyond 100. Samson, however, missed his fifty by just 2 runs, bowled by Karthik Tyagi while on 48.
Sarfaraz Khan followed and contributed a handy 23 before being bowled by Sunil Narine. Brevis, who had made a brisk 41 off 29 balls, was also dismissed by Tyagi, with Arora taking the catch to remove the Protea batter.
Shivam Dube and Jamie Overton remained not out on 13 and 7 respectively, guiding CSK to 192/5 at the end of their 20 overs.
In response, KKR opened with Finn Allen and Sunil Narine, but the partnership was short-lived. Allen was dismissed for 1 by Anshul Kamboj, and Narine followed for 24, falling to Khaleel Ahmed.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi then steadied the innings, taking KKR past 50 in the eighth over. However, CSK’s spinners tightened the screws, slowing the scoring rate significantly.
Raghuvanshi was dismissed for 27 by Akeal Hosein, and Rahane departed for 28 as Noor Ahmed sparked a collapse. The Afghan spinner removed Cam Green for a golden duck, then returned to dismiss Rinku Singh for just 6 off 12 balls.
Rovman Powell and Ramandeep Singh put together a 57-run stand for the seventh wicket, but the partnership came too late to change the outcome, as CSK comfortably clinched their second consecutive victory.
