 "Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad raises his bat in celebration after completing his half-century against Punjab Kings in Chennai. AP")
Ruturaj Gaikwad added another feather to his cap after top-scoring for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their home game against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday.
Gaikwad led from the front with a 42-ball 68 after Punjab invited Chennai to bat in the ‘Kings’ derby at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium collecting five fours and two sixes along the way and stitching a 64-run opening partnership with Ajinkya Rahane.
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With his innings, the Maharashtra wicketkeeper-batter ended up going past Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli to become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing season. Gaikwad also broke MS Dhoni’s record for the most runs scored by a CSK captain in a single edition of the IPL.
Gaikwad currently has 509 runs in 10 appearances to his name after his knock on Wednesday, nine more than what Kohli has managed so far after playing as many matches and 48 more than the 461 runs Dhoni had collected in 2013.
Dhoni had collected four half-centuries in the sixth season of the BCCI’s showpiece event, finishing at the 10th spot in the leading run-scorers’ list that year as CSK fell narrowly short of winning a hat-trick of titles after losing to Mumbai Indians in the final.
Gaikwad is currently in his first season as Chennai Super Kings captain, and could end up becoming the franchise’s first skipper to walk away with the ‘Orange Cap’ at the end of the season the way he’s performing at present.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDhoni had led the franchise in each season they had participated in between 2008 and 2023, with CSK missing the 2016 and 2017 seasons along with Rajasthan Royals due to suspension. He had briefly handed over the reins of the franchise to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, but would take it back from home at the halfway stage of the season after a series of defeats.
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Dhoni stood down as captain for the second time in three seasons on the eve of the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai, with the franchise settling for another wicketkeeper-batter in Gaikwad as his successor.