Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube completely dominated the Lucknow Super Giants bowlers on Tuesday, guiding their team to a total of 210/4 in 20 overs in the 39th match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 108*, while Shivam Dube contributed with a brisk 66, as CSK enjoyed a fruitful outing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
This marks the first occasion that a CSK captain has scored a century in the IPL. It is also the highest individual score by a CSK captain in the tournament.
Former captain MS Dhoni's highest score in the IPL stands at 84*. However, it's worth noting that Gaikwad opens the batting, whereas Dhoni bats in the middle order, resulting in Dhoni facing fewer deliveries.
It must be noted Gaikwad (108* off 60 balls) and Dube (66 off 27 balls) put on 104 runs for an exciting fourth-wicket partnership that revitalised the Super Kings' innings following a slow start in the powerplay and the middle overs.
In this season of the IPL, batting has largely been about hitting the ball hard and far, but Gaikwad chose a more traditional approach, finding the gaps for boundaries.
Remarkably, his first fifty contained no fours, yet he maintained a strike rate above 180 during that period.
While Gaikwad was the dominant force in their partnerships, Dube's arrival at the crease eased some of the pressure on him.
The left-hander struck some powerful shots around the ground and, unsurprisingly, hit CSK's first six of the innings in the 13th over off pacer Marcus Stoinis.
Gaikwad soon followed suit, hitting his first six of the innings off the 45th ball he faced by pulling a half-tracker from Stoinis over mid-wicket.
Dube then shifted into his six-hitting mode, punishing pacer Yash Thakur with three consecutive sixes.
Gaikwad, reaching 99 with a six off Thakur over extra cover, brought up his second IPL century with a boundary off the next ball from the same bowler, scoring 16 runs in the 18th over.
Gaikwad and Dube reached their 100-run partnership in just 46 balls.
Dube hammered Mohsin for a boundary and six off successive deliveries to reach his fifty in 22 balls, as CSK amassed 71 runs off the last five overs.
