Why was Ravindra Jadeja sent before in-form Shivam Dube in CSK vs LSG match? Ruturaj Gaikwad explains decision

The second encounter between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2024 saw KL Rahul's men doing the double in Chennai. After beating CSK last week in Lucknow, the Super Giants emerged on top again, despite Ruturaj Gaikwad smashing a century and a Shivam Dube blitzkrieg towards the closing stages of CSK's first innings.

The partnership between the two was not enough, as LSG's Marcus Stoinis scored an unbeaten 124 runs off 63 deliveries, leading his team to a 6-wicket victory.

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There were significant discussions surrounding the decision to send Ravindra Jadeja to bat higher in the order than in-form Shivam Dube. Jadeja has had an indifferent season with the bat for CSK in IPL 2024, managing just 154 runs in 6 innings. This, coupled with the early dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell, left CSK needing quick runs.

In the post-match interview, Ruturaj addressed the decision to promote Jadeja ahead of Dube, explaining it was in line with CSK's overall strategy for the tournament.

"Jaddu (Jadeja) is batting at number 4 since we lost the second wicket within the powerplay...Our thinking is clear that after the powerplay if there is a wicket, Shivam will come out to bat. We can’t force batters to get out after," Gaikwad said.

CSK captain, after scoring his second IPL ton, contemplated defending the total against LSG's strong batting lineup.

"To be honest, I never thought it was enough (the target of 210). It was just about par with the kind of dew we are experiencing. We saw in the last two practice sessions as well. So I knew it would go down to the wire, probably till the last over. But credit to them, they batted really well," Ruturaj added.

CSK drop from top 4

With the loss against the Super Giants, CSK dropped out of the top four and currently stand fifth with 8 points to their name. To make it worse for the side, it faces the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad, who seem to be scoring for fun these days. SRH have breached the 250-run mark thrice in the season so far, and notched the fourth-highest total in the season in their previous match against Delhi Capitals (266).