Stephen Fleming, the head coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has denied the five-time champions any home edge at the Chepauk, saying they haven’t been able to read the surface properly. According to Fleming, it has been difficult to comprehend the nature of pitches because they differ greatly from those of the past.
On Friday, March 28, the Super Kings lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Chepauk in a historic match that was their first home loss to the opponents since 2008. The Yellow Army fell by a significant margin of 50 runs after choosing to bowl first and giving up 196.
During the post-match press conference, the former captain of New Zealand admitted that the Chepauk pitches, where they could use four tweakers, haven’t been as spin-friendly as they once were. As cited by ESPNcricinfo, he clarified:
“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk. 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. 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.”
Stephen Fleming
It was anticipated that CSK’s three-pronged spin attack—which included Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja—would pose a serious threat. But with three wickets, Noor was the only one who presented the anticipated threat. Ashwin grabbed a haul of 2-0-22-1, while Jadeja gave up 37 runs in his three overs without a wicket.
“We have firepower all the way through” – Stephen Fleming on CSK’s batting lineup
Fleming responded that they have as much firepower as any other team when questioned if CSK’s traditional batting strategy is the best course of action. During the same press conference, he added:
“We talk about firepower, we have firepower all the way through. I don’t understand this question. Just because we don’t swing from ball one and have a little bit of luck go away, we’ll see at the end. Just see at the end who wins it. It’s a positive brand of cricket, no doubt about it, but don’t discount us.”
Stephen Fleming
When CSK plays the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, March 30, they will be eager to resume their winning ways.
