IPL 2024: “He’s almost one step ahead of the bowlers": Michael Hussey on Gaikwad

The ability to remain one step ahead of the bowlers has allowed Ruturaj Gaikwad to flourish in this season reckons Chennai Super Kings CSK batting coach Michael Hussey After an unbeaten 108 in the previous game CSK skipper Gaikwad was on the cusp of another century on Sunday but fell two runs short of the milestone against Sunrisers HyderabadlsquoA brilliant timer of the ballrsquoldquoGaikwad is such a wonderful player He is a brilliant timer of the cricket ball Irsquove been asking him what his secret is in terms of his placement since he always finds the gapsrdquo said Hussey after the win over Sunrisers ldquoHe is a smart batsman as well He knows when to attack and when to soak up pressure He plays spin and seam well He can score all around the groundAlso ReadIPL 2024 Kuldeeps late heroics with the bat helps DC reach 153 vs KKRMichael HusseyldquoHersquos almost one step ahead of the bowlers a lot of times He is wonderful to watch Very thankful that he is in our teamrdquo The 27yearold was announced as the new skipper of the defending champions a day before the IPL opener replacing the legendary MS DhoniChallenging roleTalking about how Gaikwad has adjusted to the leadership responsibility Hussey admitted that it has been challenging to succeed the lsquoGOATrsquo ldquoIt has been challenging for him as well He has taken over as captain to which you have to take your hat off to him He is succeeding the greatest of all time in this countryrdquo he saidStrike rate is more important than batting averages in the T20 format but at CSK that aspect of the game is not discussed much ldquoWe donrsquot talk about it strikerate much at all We talk about each player since they need to assess the conditions out in the middle as quickly as they can The batter needs to take up the responsibility and the ownership in the middlerdquo he continuedlsquoDeshpande gave us momentum in PowerplayrsquoTushar Deshpandersquos breathtaking bowling display in Powerplay made the difference for CSK in their 78run win over SRH and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged that the pacer brought the momentum back in the side Deshpande claimed 427 off three overs Three of those wickets came in PowerplayldquoOne area where we lost momentum in a few games was not getting wickets in the Powerplay It is the only way we can put the opposition on the back foot Deshpande bowled really well His hard work is paying offrdquo said GaikwadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever