IPL 2020: Netizens opine Chennai would qualify had Ruturaj Gaikwad been brought in early

Facing an unprecedented situation in history of IPL, MS Dhoni's Chennai find mselves at bottom of points table having lost 8 matches out of 13 played so far. While Men in Yellow have mand to qualify for playoffs 10 times, this season, y have failed to replicate ir success. squ was first struck by a COVID crisis and n suffered a severe blow as veterans Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh pulled out of tournament due to personal reasons. 

Chennai's core strength seemed missing as veterans failed to perform while young pool lacked chances. However, Men in Yellow have registered top-tch 'Chennai-like' performances in last three games, when y have got thing but pride to play for. At centre of se dominating victories has been Ruturaj Gaikw, a 23-year-old youngster, who has tched up back-to-back victories.

Gaikw was one of players who h been infected with COVID just before start of IPL 2020 and h to face extended quarantine. He was brought into squ during a mid-way fixture, only to be dropped in next game after a poor outing. 

However, in last three games, Gaikw has me most of opportunity, smashing three consecutive 50s. Against Bangalore, Gaikw played an unbeaten inning of 65 runs while against Kolkata he scored 72 runs. In last game of season for Chennai, Gaikw played an unbeaten inning of 62 runs. After kck against Punjab, Gaikw sent Twitter into a frenzy as netizens flooded micro-blogging site with praise for youngster. Several users opined that Chennai would have qualified playoffs h Gaikw been included in playing XI during early days of tournament. 

Here's how netizens reacted

Chennai end season with a win

Despite a terrible season, Chennai got back to winning ways in last three games as y ended ir campaign on a winning te. MS Dhoni & Co. put on a clinical performance to defeat Punjab by 9 wickets on Sunday, ending KL Rahul's hopes of qualifying for playoffs.