‘Bad Day for Spinners’: Ruturaj Gaikwad Reacts to CSK’s Defeat Against Punjab Kings

The seventh match of the IPL 2026 series was held Friday evening at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, where Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were up against Punjab Kings. CSK suffered a loss by five wickets. The CSK skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, seemed dissatisfied following two consecutive losses in the season. He pointed out that the lackluster performance of CSK spinners had proved to be detrimental for his team.

After the match, captain Ruturaj said, "I thought it was a really good score. The wicket was better for the fast bowlers. I felt it was a bit grippy for the spinners; the ball wasn't coming on to the bat as well. The slower ball was gripping as well. So, you know, especially considering the big boundaries on this ground, I thought it was a really good score."

Regarding the inclusion of Rahul Chahar as an impact player, he said, "We felt we had three fast bowlers and obviously two good wrist spinners, who were bowling in tandem, especially in the middle overs after the powerplay. We thought that would help. However, I think it was a bit of a bad day for Noor Ahmed and Rahul Chahar. That's what hurt us."

Speaking on the bowling performance, Ruturaj further said, "I think our bowlers' performance was mixed. At times, we bowled very well." Sometimes we didn't bowl at the right time. When an over was going well, we gave away a six or a four. So I think we didn't build enough pressure on the opposition.

He further said that there was a point when the run rate reached 11 runs per over, and then maybe after that there were some good overs. It could have reached 12 or 13. That's how you build momentum. So we couldn't find that momentum in the middle overs. It was definitely a very difficult match. But, as I said, there were many positives as well. He said that the way our batsmen performed today will boost their morale.