“We don’t mess with things that are going well” - Stephen Fleming on why CSK didn’t alter batting order during chase vs RR
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming stated that the think tank didn’t feel the need to change the batting order while chasing 203 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday, April 27. The Kiwi legend said that the franchise does not believe in messing up things that are going well.
CSK went down to RR by 32 runs in match number 37 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Batting first, Rajasthan put up 202/5 and then held Chennai to 170/6.
Batting at No. 4, Shivam Dube top-scored for CSK with 52 off 33, but his heroics went in vain. Asked if Chennai could have sent some of their power hitters up the order, Fleming replied at a post-match press conference:
“The set roles are very important. [Ajinkya] Rahane has been great for us at No. 3. We don’t mess with things that are going well. It was just today we came up against a team that took the pace off the ball. We couldn’t get any real momentum in the first six overs.
“Devon Conway, who is in outstanding form, couldn’t get underway. The rhythm of the innings was slow. When we tried to catch the game up, we made mistakes.”
Fleming praised the opposition for seizing the advantage by dominating the powerplay with both the bat and ball. The 50-year-old commented:
“The first six overs, they were outstanding with the bat and the ball as well. That just set the two innings up for them. We could have been better, but part of that is playing away from home - trying to find out the right length to bowl, what sort of swing conditions we are going to get. That’s part of the challenge of playing away.”
RR raced away to 64/0 in the powerplay thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s aggressive stroke play. They then restricted CSK to 42/1 in the first six overs as Conway (8 off 16) struggled for momentum.
“Jaiswal played a great innings to create some momentum” - Stephen Fleming
Reflecting on the loss, Fleming hailed RR opener Jaiswal for playing a great knock. At the same time, he lamented the lack of luck for his bowlers as a number of edges in the last few overs of Rajasthan’s innings went for boundaries.
The CSK coach said:
“This pitch was a lot different in appearance than the last one. It played well. It was starting to get a bit slower towards the end, but Rajasthan played a great home game. They came out of the blocks really well. Jaiswal played a great innings to create some momentum.
“We came back quite nicely in the game. We were a little bit unlucky. In the last 3-4 overs, just with a few nicks, probably 16-20 runs more than what we thought. That’s just how the game goes. Those extra 20 runs made it quite tough.”
Jaiswal was named the Player of the Match for his 43-ball 77 that featured eight fours and four sixes.