IPL 2021: Stephen Fleming comments on Ravindra Jadeja's 22-ball 22 in high-scoring MI-CSK game
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming shared his thoughts on Ravindra Jadeja's run-a-ball unbeaten 22 against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday.
With over 430 runs scored in this match, Jadeja's knock was uncharacteristically subdued and potentially affected CSK's chances of putting a higher total on the board.
Replying to a question asked by Sportskeeda whether this knock turned out to be decisive at the end, Stephen Fleming said:
"He just didn't get away. But at the other end, it was high scoring. So, sometimes it works that way that one person going incredibly well and the other person turns over the strike. So, we looked at the partnership. The last 5-10 overs were very good."
The Chennai Super Kings scored 82 runs in the last five overs of the match. Ravindra Jadeja only managed to score 19 runs off 13 balls while batting in that period.
However, he added 102 runs from 48 balls along with Ambati Rayudu, which Stephen Fleming thought was the most important thing. Their partnership helped Chennai get to 218/4 in 20 overs, with Rayudu accruing 72 off just 27 balls.
MI snatch the game away from CSK at the death
Despite putting up a huge total on the board, CSK failed to defend it due to a Kieron Pollard blitzkrieg. His unbeaten 87 off 34 balls powered the Mumbai Indians to a 4-wicket victory. It was one of those wins that can lift the morale of the entire camp.
Mumbai Indians scored a mind-boggling 138 runs in the final 10 overs to get over the winning line. They also went past their own record of 133 runs (vs PBKS in 2019) for the 'most runs scored in the last 10 overs of a successful IPL chase'.
After the game, MS Dhoni said the CSK bowlers failed to execute their plans but called this a huge learning curve for the team.
"The difference was the execution. Not being too tough on bowlers, we dropped catches at crucial intervals. The bowlers would execute better and learn from this," MS Dhoni said.
With this victory, MI have ended CSK's five-match winning streak in IPL 2021.