Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming has said that despite the defeat to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their latest IPL 2023 game, there won’t be any changes to the batting order.
RR scored the first ever 200-plus total at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur in Indian Premier League history and their 202/5 was enough for their bowlers to contain the rampaging CSK team in their tracks.
Thanks to 77 from Yashasvi Jaiswal and contributions from Dhruv Jurel (34) and Devdutt Padikkal (27), RR posted a daunting total on the board.
In response, CSK managed 170/6 with Shivam Dube making 52 and Ruturaj Gaikwad making 47 runs. It was their third loss in eight matches this IPL season.
When asked if CSK should have sent some of the big hitters up the order, including Dhoni himself, Fleming said, “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.”
IPL 2023: WATCH – MS Dhoni loses cool at Matheesha Pathirana and Shivam Dube during RR-CSK clash
Fleming also pointed out where CSK fell behind at the start as compared to their 42/1 in the first 6 overs, RR had posted 64/0.
“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, and what sort of swing conditions we are going to get. That’s part of the challenge of playing away,” he added.
CSK were unlucky when the edges off RR player’s bats went for boundaries and narrowly evaded the fielders.
“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 well. (Yashasvi) Jaiswal played a great inning to create some momentum,” the coach added.
“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 we thought. That’s just how the game goes. Those extra 20 runs made it quite tough,” Fleming concluded.
Chennai Super Kings’ next match is against the Punjab Kings at home on Sunday.
(PTI inputs)
