'Disappointing to see...' - Shane Watson Unhappy with Ruturaj Gaikwad's Display in CSK's Loss to RCB

At their stronghold, Chepauk, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise suffered a heartbreaking loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The team's performance and batting order, which failed to chase down the score set by the boys in red, also disappointed Shane Watson, a former CSK player and analyst. On Friday, March 28, the Chennai Super Kings suffered a 50-run defeat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was the first time in 17 years that CSK had lost to RCB at home. The Super Kings' poor performance against a strong RCB bowling assault under Josh Hazlewood resulted in a lopsided victory.

Finally, Chennai's winning run against RCB has ended. The last time RCB defeated the five-time champions at this location was during the first edition in 2008. Three-time IPL champion Shane Watson has been particularly critical of the team's performance, expressing dissatisfaction with the home team's choices. In addition to praising each batter's effort, he pointed out that the team's combinations were lacking.

Shane Watson gets candid:

On JioHotstar, Watson said, “It was disappointing to see certain decisions like Rahul Tripathi opening the batting. Ruturaj Gaikwad is a quality opener, yet he had to come in later. Even one of the shots Ruturaj Gaikwad played—where he gave himself room against Hazlewood—was uncharacteristic. Normally, he stands still and reacts, but this showed he was under pressure. Deepak Hooda, at the moment, just isn’t up to it; he played each ball as if he was trying to survive. Batting Sam Curran at number 5 was also questionable—I see him as more of a number 7 batter. Right now, CSK hasn’t got their combinations right, and they need to make a few adjustments. If they persist with this batting line-up, they risk being exposed."

The former Australian all-rounder publicly praised MS Dhoni for his explosive batting towards the finish, despite his dissatisfaction with some of the batters' efforts. Given the circumstances of the game, Watson also thought that the previous captain of CSK ought to have entered the batting order.

He further added, “This is exactly what CSK fans come to see—30 off 16 deliveries from Dhoni. I would have absolutely loved to see him come up the order. In my opinion, he should have batted ahead of Ashwin. Given the game situation, Dhoni could have played like this for another 15 balls. Over the last couple of years, he has consistently shown that he’s still batting beautifully. I truly believe he should be promoted up the order so we can see the full extent of his skills."

Watson concluded by saying, “From a wicket-keeping perspective, he’s still as sharp as ever—whipping the bails off in an instant. That tells me his game is in great shape, and he's as well-prepared as he possibly can be. If CSK had sent him in earlier, they would have had a better chance of crossing the line. Of course, the crowd absolutely loved what he did tonight, but if he had come in sooner, CSK might have had a stronger shot at victory."

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