Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad on Sunday said he pushed himself down the batting order as it lends more balance to the side.
In his place, impact player Rahul Tripathi opened the innings alongside Rachin Ravindra but could not deliver.
Gaikwad, batting at three, and Ravindra struck sublime fifties to set up a four wicket win for CSK over Mumbai Indians.
“That is the requirement of the team (talking about the move to bat at three) and that gives the team more balance and I am really happy to change my position,” said Gaikwad after the match.
The skipper praised the performance of the spinners led by CSK debutant Noor Ahmad who took four wickets.
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“The spinners were right on point and right after the auction, one thing we were really excited was all those three spinners bowling in tandem at Chepauk. Khaleel (pacer) is experienced and Noor is an X factor and that is why we wanted him in the team and good to have Ashwin as well.”
On MS Dhoni, he added: “He is more fitter this year and he is still looking young.”
Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav predicted a bright future for IPL debutant Vignesh Puthur who made the game interesting by taking three wickets.
“We were 15-20 runs short but the fight the boys showed was commendable. MI is known for that – giving youngsters opportunities, the scouts do this for 10 months and he (Vignesh) is a product of that,” he said.
“I kept his one over in the pocket if the game went deep, but it was a no-brainer to give him the 18th over. He has a bright future. There wasn’t any dew, but it was sticky, the way Ruturaj batted in the second innings took the game away from us,” said Suryakumar.