Chennai Super Kings could not build a partnership of substance: Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings’ 34-run loss to Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday stalled their prospects of finishing in the top two of the points table and coach Stephen Fleming cited the lack of partnerships as the key factor behind the loss. (DD v CSK HIGHLIGHTS)

In the post-match press conference, Fleming said, “We failed to get a partnership of substance which brought the slowness of the wicket to the fore and it was just hard to generate momentum. We hoped that the wicket would speed up but they took the pace off nicely. Leg spinners created pressure and we gave them wickets.” (DD v CSK SCORECARD)

Chasing 163, CSK’s highest partnership was the opening stand of 46 between Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson. Although Rayudu scored his third fifty in IPL 2018, the rest of the batting failed to contribute as a unit, with the next highest score being Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 27.

“When you lose wickets by chasing a medium score on a sluggish wicket, it will always be hard. To start an innings becomes difficult. It was a close game, but we never in the chase after the first 10 overs once we started to lose wickets,” Fleming said.

READ | IPL 2018: How Delhi Daredevils stifled MS Dhoni’s big-hitting prowess

Costly death overs

At 102/5 after 15 overs, CSK had the chance to restrict Delhi Daredevils to a total less than 150. However, Harshal Patel and Vijay Shankar’s 65-run stand off 32 balls helped DD smash 60 runs in the last five overs. The highlight of the stand was 26 runs being hit in the 20th over bowled by Dwayne Bravo as Patel hit three sixes and Shankar hit one. The CSK coach, though, stated that he was happy with the bowling effort.

“Most teams have problems with the death overs. It is not just us. In the match before this, Dwayne Bravo helped us restrict a potential score of 200 down to 180. The nature of the game is such that one has a good day and on some days, you are at the wrong end of it,” Fleming said.

Chennai Super Kings’ last game will be against Kings XI Punjab in Pune on Sunday and a win will seal a top two spot for MS Dhoni’s side while a loss might not hurt their position too much.