According to head coach Stephen Fleming, Chennai Super Kings may find it difficult to take advantage of having the home-field advantage during the IPL qualifying matches because they are still “not sure” about the Chepauk conditions.
According to head coach Stephen Fleming, Chennai Super Kings may find it difficult to take advantage of having the home-field advantage during the IPL qualifying matches because they are still “not sure” about the Chepauk conditions.
CSK defeated Delhi Capitals by a score of 77 runs on Saturday, becoming the second team to earn a spot in the playoffs. The four-time champions are probably going to place in the top two. The top four teams will head to Chennai next to play Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator.
“We are still not too sure about our conditions in Chennai, other years we were pretty sure but it’s changed a little bit this year,”
Fleming said at the post-match conference.
After the loss against Kolkata Knight Riders, skipper MS Dhoni had also said that they were unable to evaluate the conditions at Chepauk.
Fleming believes it is because of the work done behind the scenes that The Yellow Brigade frequently recovers after dismal seasons.
“Each year is different. During the COVID year, we felt we have a couple of things wrong but we finished well. Last year, we felt we would be struggling, it was just about getting work done a year before, not just giving it up.
“Trying to give guys opportunities, finding pieces of the puzzle, to help us bounce back.”
He cited the example of pacer Tushar Deshpande, who has been CSK’s leading wicket-taker this year.
“Deshpande is a good example, with injury and opportunity he has developed into a quality player. It goes back to the auction table as well and the kind of squad we build.”
New Zealander Devon Conway once again played a sensational knock (87 off 52) and was adjudged the player of the match.
“He has been consistent and he gets runs, he doesn’t always look flamboyant but his ability to get runs and do the job is high class,”
the head coach said.
Fleming also said Deepak Chahar’s form would be vital going into the knockout stages.
“He’s now got some confidence in his body, he bowled very well today and he still getting back to how good he can be.
“The spell today was smart. Even in the last games he wasn’t at his best but picked three wickets. If you have a bit of a golden arm with 2-3 games to go he must continues the form.”
Delhi Capitals assistant coach Praveen Amre said they had trouble with the Kotla pitch after a dismal season.
“We are not able to predict what sort of wicket it will be. The Home advantage is that you know it’s a 150 or 200 wicket. Today we felt it was a 180 wicket. Credit to their batters.”
Delhi’s Indian core comprising the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan failed to deceive.
“We gave opportunities to whatever available talent we had but none of them unfortunately could make a mark. Only two batters got man of the match in 14 games.
“David and Axar batted well, that is a positive but we have to go back to the drawing board.”