Dubai, Oct 4 (IANS) Delhi Capitals off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, saying that the youngster has been absolutely wonderful to watch. He added that with Chennai's batting in good touch, it will be a challenge for his team.

"Look, I think CSK have got a couple of batters who look at like, golden form. I don't know what else to say. The way Ruturaj Gaikwad has been batting, has been absolutely wonderful to watch. I've enjoyed every single moment of how h's had to bat. And it's going to be a challenge, right?," said Ashwin in a video posted by the franchise on Monday.

Gaikwad has been one of the standout performers in the second leg of IPL 2021. The Pune-based opener is at second place in the run-getter's list with 508 runs in 12 matches at an average of 50.80 and strike rate of 140.33. Gaikwad had set the stage on fire with a unbeaten 101 against Rajasthn Royals in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Ahead of the match against Chennai on Monday, Ashwin commented that Chennai bat deep and aggressive, something which they faced during the first half of the tournament in India. "CSK bat deep, bat aggressively. They batted aggressively against us at the Wankhede as well. It'll be at the Dubai Stadium. So the pitch has been good at Dubai, so I'm expecting quite a good batting dish out game. Looking forward to the challenge."

Chennai and Delhi, occupying top two spots in the points table, in a match widely expected to decide who will finish first in the points table.

--IANS

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