Ruturaj Gaikwad blamed his spin team’s five-match loss to Punjab Kings in the IPL on Friday, saying that despite their high score total, their off-days hurt the team.Chennai Super Kings scored 209 runs for 5 with Ayush Mhatre scoring 73 runs off 43 balls. But Kings XI Punjab chased down the target in 18.4 overs, led by captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored 50 runs.After the match, Gaikwad pointed out that the performance of his spinners Noor Ahmed and Rahul Chahal was the key factor in the defeat. Chennai had seaming options in Gurjapneet Singh and Jamie Overton as impact replacements but opted to bring in Chahal.“We felt we had three seamers and obviously we had two good wrist spinners (Noor Ahmed and Rahul Chahal) bowling in tandem, especially in the middle after the powerplay. We felt, you know, that would help,” Gaikwad said.“But I think, you know, they both had an off day. So, I think, that’s what we paid for. Sometimes we executed really well. Sometimes we just didn’t execute at the right time,” he added.He said the team was unable to create pressure in the midfield.“There was one moment when (the required run rate) was up to 11 and with a couple of good passes it would have been 12-13. We just didn’t get momentum in the middle of the field (with the ball).”Gaikwad added that there were positives to the batting with contributions from Mhat and Shivam Dubey, but said the bowling needed to improve.Kings XI Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer said the opening of openers Priyansh Ayah and Prabhusimran Singh played a big role in the chase.“The way we started today, it was a special start for us. I felt the way they (Arya and Prabhu Simran) batted really well and it settled the tempo for us,” Iyer said.“I’m delighted everyone is starting to bat. It gives the team a huge amount of confidence. Whenever we’re under pressure, people know how to handle it. We’ve just decided in the dressing room that we’re going to play a type of cricket that impresses each other – it gives us some clarity and basically challenges each other.”In the chase, Iyer’s 50 off 29 balls and his 59-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera helped Punjab reach 210 for 5 overs. The target is 209.Punjab also got contributions from Priyansh Arya (39 off 11), Prabhsimran Singh (43 off 34) and Cooper Connolly (36 off 22).Ayer got off to a slow start, scoring eight points from nine goals while Connolly was in charge. Iyer took control and targeted the spinner after Connolly was bowled by Anshul Kamboj. He reached 50 in 26 balls but was later dismissed by Kamboj after a delivery.Punjab finished their chase in 18.4 overs to hand Chennai their second consecutive defeat.
