Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway put on 182 runs for the opening wicket in the IPL 2022 match against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday, breaking several records in the process. The opening partnership is the biggest for any wicket by a CSK pair while it was also the biggest for any wicket at Pune in the tournament. Gaikwad and Conway also registered the highest partnership for any wicket against SRH in the history of the cash-rich league.
After a slow start in IPL 2022, Ruturaj Gaikwad finally hit his stride, smashing 99 off just 57 balls while Devon Conway remained unbeaten on 85 off 55 balls as CSK posted a mammoth 202 for two in their 20 overs.
Last season, Gaikwad, who had won the Orange Cap, formed a formidable opening partnership with Faf du Plessis. But the South African is now at Royal Challengers Bangalore, leading the franchise.
After his heroics with the bat against SRH, Gaikwad took a cheeky dig at his former opening partner.
Speaking in a video posted by CSK on their official Twitter handle, Gaikwad spoke of his sensational opening partnership with Conway.
"I think Faf will be jealous a little bit," Gaikwad said with a massive grin on his face.
"It feels really nice to have the record. Obviously, we didn't expect to happen this much. All we wanted was to start of really well and make sure we have wickets in hand. I felt the wicket was slightly slow and him (Conway) playing his second game, so, I wanted his nerves to settle down a bit. I am very happy for him because he was eager for this knock and he was eager to perform for this lovely franchise," added Gaikwad.
CSK's total proved to be a bit too much for SRH and despite Nicholas Pooran's 33-ball 64 blitz, the latter fell short by 13 runs.