Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad did not mince his words in the criticism of the Chepauk pitch following their loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) today (April 26) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). The five-time champions slumped to their fifth defeat in eight games, including a third loss at the MA Chidambaram stadium.
CSK conceded their first two home games against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) but managed to win their next two matches at Chennai with wins over Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
However, Ruturaj blamed their latest loss against GT at home on the unpredictable nature of the pitch. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony of the CSK vs GT contest, the CSK skipper said,
“Not expected, to be honest. You know, it’s really hard to assess how it’s going to play. Last three games we played here, I think we kind of, you know, got to know how it will play or you kind of, you know, we were in a situation where we felt, okay, 60% is going to play like this, 70% is going to play like this, but this game, we didn’t have any idea about how it will play and, you know, by the time we wanted to adapt and change, we were too late and then after that, even we wanted, we tried, but it just didn’t come off.”
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Speaking about Chennai’s playoffs qualification chances, they still have fate in their own hand and are still in contention. If they win all of their remaining six games, CSK will finish with a total of 18 points and will guarantee a spot. A loss will still keep their chances alive but they would need to keep their NRR high.
Two losses would also keep CSK mathematically in the race but their fortune will depend on other results. However, three more defeats mean the end of their hopes.
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