Despite having lost their mainstays ahead of IPL 2020, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got better of Mumbai Indians (MI) in the tournament opener, in Abu Dhabi on September 19. While Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh made themselves unavailable for the IPL 2020, due to personal reasons, CSK were stunned with 13 novel coronavirus cases, of which 2 were cricketers (Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad), in their camp in UAE.
MS Dhoni and his men can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the 23-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad has rejoined the squad after testing negative of Covid-19. Earlier, another infected cricketer, Deepak Chahar, had tested negative and also featured in the playing XI for the opener on Saturday. The CSK training camp has welcomed the young batsman upon clearing his 2 mandatory coronavirus tests.
The first thing you wanna see on a Monday morning. Look who's back! 😍 #Ruturaj #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/GXYIMs1OBx
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 21, 2020
Gaikwad was tested positive a few days after his CSK teammate Deepak Chahar. After CSK mainstay Suresh Raina’s pulling out of IPL 2020, it was understood that Gaikwad will be expected to replace the veteran batsman after he clears his designated tests for coronavirus.
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CSK did seem to be a bit shaky in their batting at first, against the IPL 2020 opener against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday, but soon made a strong recovery holding the hands of Faf du Plessis (58* off 44) and the highest scorer Ambati Rayudu (71 off 48). Du Plessis scored the winning runs with as CSK won the game by 5 wickets (4 balls remaining).
The bowlers, too, seemed to have a good check on the Mumbai batsmen. All in all, the CSK camp can be termed as settled ones without many hiccups. Deepak Chahar and Murali Vijay’s poor fielding could, however, be one major concern.
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Some Indian players have really looked rusty so far in the competition. Chennai has their next IPL fixture scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, locking horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
