Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming was over the moon after his team’s 18-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (April 21).
See Also: “Quite easy to stay calm in a game like this”, says MS Dhoni after CSK’s win over KKR
It was CSK’s third win of the IPL 2021 season in four games and the MS Dhoni-led side is currently occupying the top slot in the points table.
According to Fleming, winning three matches out of four has exceeded their own expectations.
"We learnt about ourselves from Abu Dhabi and Dubai last year. It is very hard when you are conditioned to play one style and then to do 180, that was a challenge we had last year. But by the time, the tournament ended last year, we learnt a lot of things. A big focus on making sure that we assess the conditions here. We have done that really well. Three wins out of four has probably exceeded expectations, we thought three out of five would be good, but we are really proud, especially with our batting," said Fleming during a virtual press conference.
Invited to bat first, CSK piled up a mammoth 220/3 in 20 overs on the back of Faf du Plessis’ unbeaten 95 off 60 balls and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 42-ball 64.
In reply, KKR were reeling at 31/5 before Andre Russell (54 off 22 balls), Pat Cummins (66* off 34 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (40 off 24 balls) produced stunning knocks to take the team to 202 all-out in 19.1 overs.
Fleming lauded Gaikwad as the latter returned to form after enduring three consecutive failures in the tournament.
"We rate Ruturaj very highly. I know there is pressure from outside but from within the camp, there was no doubt of what he is capable of. Naturally, you want the player to get into the tournament. He is such a stylish player, he trains well and he has got talent oozing out of him. There was not any pressure there, but this performance will do him a world of good," he said.
CSK pacer Shardul Thakur was taken to the cleaners by KKR batsmen. He conceded 48 runs in his 3.1 overs and failed to take a wicket.
Commenting on Thakur's performance, Fleming said: "This game can be a little bit brutal, he was pretty good, he took over the role of bowling at the death overs."
Earlier on Wednesday, MS Dhoni's parents tested positive for COVID-19.
Talking about this entire situation, the CSK coach said: "Not a lot of talk between players. But from management's point of view, we are well aware of his family's situation. The support has been set up for MS and his family, talking with MS, the situation is under control for now. We will monitor for the next few days, it is a tough time for everybody and the fact that it is affecting India the way it is. I hope his family recovers quickly."
(With ANI inputs)
