The two-paced Chepauk strip tricked Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson into opting to bat first. But Chennai Super Kings have no complaints about the surface.

They love playing on such pitches, said skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad after Sunday’s five-wicket win.

“Definitely, we would love to play on such wickets. It brings our spinners into play and with huge boundaries, there is an amount of risk to hit sixes,” the young captain said.

“Wonderful feeling, especially in our last home game of the league stage. Good to get a win,” Ruturaj added.

Samson admitted that he misread the wicket, while saying that they were 20-25 runs short of the ideal target. “We are not really sure what to expect from away games. We thought batting first was the better option.

“They (Chennai) had a better idea of what to chase being used to playing here... We thought it would have been slower in the second innings, but the wicket was instead better,” Samson said.

After a hat-trick of losses, Samson hoped that they will be able to get on the winning side soon and seal an elusive playoffs spot.