Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ravindra Jadeja on Monday blamed his top batting line-up for lack of good starts
in this IPL season, saying the inability to score runs in the first six overs was hurting the team.
CSK slumped to their sixth loss in eight games after going down by 11 runs defeat to Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday in an IPL thriller. Chasing a target of 188, CSK had a woeful start as they slipped to 40 for 3 in seven overs. In the second over itself as Sandeep Sharma cleaned up Robin Uthappa.
“I think not getting a good start in the first six, we’re not putting runs on the board in the first six. So we need to improve on that and come back strong,” Jadeja said during the post-match presentation.
However, CSK got back into the game with Ambati Rayudu’s 39-ball 78 kept them in the hunt before they could manage 176 for 6 in 20 overs. Jadeja lauded Rayudu for his effort, but admitted that the result could have been different if they had restricted Punjab Kings to under 175 runs.
“I think [Rayudu] was batting brilliantly, but as I said we could have restricted them under 170-175. I think we started very well, with the new ball we bowled in good areas, but I thought we gave away 10-15 runs in the last 2-3 overs and we didn’t execute our plan very well.” Jadeja added.
With this win, PBKS moved to sixth on the points table with their fourth win in eight games taking their tally to eight points, while CSK slumped to their sixth defeat this season in eight games. Jadeja led Super Kings are next scheduled to lock horns with Kane Williamson’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, May 1 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.
