IPL Turning Point: Gaikwad-Conway combo brings Chennai back to winning ways

Source From: ENT 2022-05-02 02:01:10

In Chennai Super Kings' run to the IPL 2021 trophy, the opening stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis was a major cog in the wheel. In that season, Gaikwad took the orange cap with 635 runs while du Plessis amassed 633 runs. The all-right combination added 756 runs for the opening stand, making them the stars of Chennai's fourth IPL win.


But the retentions came and Gaikwad was expectedly retained while du Plessis went into the auction pool and was snapped by Royal Challengers Bangalore to be their skipper in 2022. The solidity of the Gaikwad-du Plessis stand now not available was visible when in the lead-up to Sunday's game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai's best opening stand was just 28.

But at the MCA Stadium in Pune, Gaikwad joined forces with left-handed New Zealand opener Devon Conway to share a gigantic stand of 182 off 107 balls and set the base for 202/2 against one of the most lethal and ferocious bowling attacks in the tournament.

Before this game, Conway and Gaikwad had added just two for the opening stand, in the tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders.

In a stadium where majority of the fans sported yellow jerseys and cheered loudly when MS Dhoni walked in for the toss as the captain, Gaikwad and Conway dished out a stunning, dominant show after having the usual slow and steady Chennai start when 40/0 came in powerplay, also their best score in this phase of the game.

With Conway playing slow at 10 off 15, Gaikwad had to take up the aggressor's role in the acceleration job. "I was telling him (Conway) to take his time. I have played here as this is my home ground, I know this wicket and I was just chatting with him to keep going," revealed Gaikwad after the match.

That acceleration happened from the eighth over when Gaikwad stepped up to Umran Malik's raw pace with a thump over cover for four and followed it up with a six over long-on. Seeing Gaikwad dazzle prompted Conway to come out of his shell and give the treatment to Malik in the last over to Aiden Markram.