With an outstanding all-around performance, Punjab Kings defeated the reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, handily handing them their third loss in as many games.
Head coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Stephen Fleming, bemoaned the uneven grounds at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated the Men in Yellow on Wednesday, May 1, by a margin of seven wickets.
This season, the legendary MA Chidambaram Stadium has helped the spinners with both traditional and high-scoring pitches. On May 1, Fleming expressed frustration with the unpredictable pitches available at CSK’s home venue and acknowledged that his crew was unable to determine the appropriate score on the red-soil surface fast enough. He did, however, remember to commend Punjab Kings for their impressive performance and decisive win.
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We’ve talked previously how unpredictable wickets can be in Chepauk. Today Jinks (Rahane) was struck in the helmet by the first ball that bounced. merely attempting to estimate how it will play. Sadly, we’re batting first a lot, so it’s challenging to determine what constitutes a competitive score. That was on our minds today because we received a few 200s, but it was a little sticky. After a strong start in the first six overs, things got challenging. We also tried with the lefties, Rizvi and Jadeja, who also had an aggressive position that didn’t work, and Dube, of course. At the news conference following the game, Fleming stated, “We just couldn’t get anything through the middle,” as cited by Cricket sport.
To counter the Punjab spinners, Chennai decided to push left-handed batsmen Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja up to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. But the move was a bust, as Jadeja was fired after two seasons and Dube left for a golden duck.
“They lost a great wicket today with their spinners, and Dube was a big part of that (six-hitting).” It was a fantastic matchup for Dube as a left-arm and leg spinner. He has performed incredibly well this season, but they won that one convincingly, which put pressure on us to keep hitting sixes, which made it difficult. Furthermore, the land is somewhat expansive, making it difficult to draw boundaries squarely even with aid. And they bowled well, they protected it effectively. made it challenging for us,” Fleming remarked.
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They were rather combative, and we were also a little strange: Fleming, Stephen
On Wednesday, the former captain of New Zealand conceded that Punjab was the more aggressive of the two teams. He pointed out that the Sam Curran-led team applied the breaks throughout middle overs, keeping the reigning champions from reaching the 180-run barrier.
“They had excellent bowling, outstanding purchase, and superb ball retention. Thus, three positive aspects. We were simply suppressed throughout, which kept us from receiving a score of, 180? That, in my opinion, would not have been sufficient. The ball sticks in the wicket for a tiny window of time when it is dry. Once more, it becomes difficult to grasp the ball and do variations. They executed the job well, they were aggressive enough and we were a touch off as well. Although it’s a frustrating day, we were on the wrong side of the IPL, which is a part of it. To compete, we were too imprecise with the bat and ball,” Fleming said.
