 "Fired-up coach Fleming defends CSK's batting approach against RCB, laments 'no home advantage at Chepauk'")
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming’s demeanour isn’t very different from that of icon player and former captain MS Dhoni, in that both are known for their calmness as well as for maintaining their composure even in high-pressure situations. It is perhaps the reason why the two ended up forming such a successful captain-coach duo that led to five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles and four runner-up finishes.
Saturday's lop-sided defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru , however, appears to have had quite the effect on Fleming as it was a rare, fired-up version of the former New Zealand captain who took questions from reporters at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Fleming, for one, did not take kindly to a question on the team’s batting approach during their chase of the steep 197-run target set by the Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers. After losing wickets upfront, Chennai could hardly keep up with the asking rate and failed to breach the 150-mark despite MS Dhoni’s fireworks in the last two overs.
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Before Friday’s 50-run loss against RCB, their heaviest at Chepauk till date, the Super Kings had suffered a wobble in the middle overs during their chase of a relatively easier 156-run target against fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side eventually got home with four wickets and five deliveries to spare .
“You talk about firepower. We have got firepower all the way through. I don’t understand this question. Just because we don’t swing from ball No.1 and have some luck go our way, just see the end, who wins it. It is a positive brand of cricket. Don’t discount us,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts‘We haven’t been able to read the wickets here’: Fleming on Chepauk
The 51-year-old also lamented his team’s lack of home advantage at what is supposed to be their ‘Fortress’ in recent years, with CSK having won 11 and lost six games at this venue since 2023, including three defeats in their last six outings.
Chepauk traditionally has had wickets that have been on the slower side and aided spin, which has reflected in CSK’s squads over the years. It’s no different for the ‘Yellow Army’ in the 18th IPL season, having signed Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad for Rs 10 crore and brought legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin back into the franchise after a decade.
The Chennai pitch on Friday, however, offered a lot more support for seamers as Josh Hazlewood (3/21), Yash Dayal (2/18) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/20) played a primary role in stifling CSK’s flow of runs from the word go. Pacers, additionally, had collected 74 wickets compared to 25 for spinners at this venue last year.
“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” Fleming said.
“We’ve won away from home a couple of times. And we haven’t been able to read… we’ve been really honest with you. We haven’t been able to read the wickets here in the last couple of years. So, it’s not new. We are trying to come to grips each day with what we get, and we don’t know,” he added.
Having been part of the CSK setup since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, spending his first year with the franchise as a player, Fleming felt the current wicket is nothing like what Chepauk used to offer earlier.
“It’s not the Chepauk (of old) where you can just go in and play four spinners. We’re having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it’s quite different,” he added.
CSK have a short turnaround after suffering their first home game against RCB in 17 years as they travel to the North-East, where they face a struggling Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium on Sunday.
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