Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for playing a stunning knock in their IPL 2025 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He compared his strokeplay to the veteran of VVS Laxman. However, Gaikwad scored 53 runs off 26 deliveries as CSK reached the target with four wickets and five deliveries to spare.

Reflecting on CSK’s chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Rahul Tripathi came to open in the run chase. He got out to Deepak Chahar. Then Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ruturaj Gaikwad played at a strike rate of 200, but it seemed from nowhere that he played at that strike rate. That’s the beauty. It’s like VVS Laxman style of batting. It was batting from his school, that you would hit fours and sixes, the bowler would remain stunned, but would never complain. He would appreciate the shots. He is so elegant, so wonderful, just looking like a wow. He is that kind of a player. I am a huge Ruturaj Gaikwad fan. Going at a strike rate of 200 without playing agricultural shots, he is outstanding.”

However, Aakash Chopra also added that the Chennai Super Kings’ decision to play Rachin Ravindra before Devon Conway against the
Mumbai Indians could mean that they would potentially go ahead with him as an opener throughout IPL 2025.

“There was a toss-up between Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, as to who they would want to play. They didn’t play Devon Conway and played Rachin Ravindra. It means the template has been set. Chennai try to continue what they do in the first match. Rachin Ravindra stayed till the end and batted extremely well. He played in a different style. When you remain unbeaten on 65 in a 158-run total, it means you played a slightly different brand of cricket, but that was the brand that was needed because wickets fell from the other end,” Aakash Chopra concluded.