Shortly after Chennai Super Kings stumbled to their third defeat in the last four games, head coach Stephen Fleming was candid in his admission about what went wrong for the defending champions.
One of the aspects that seemingly frustrated Fleming was the lack of consistency in the nature of pitches seen at Chepauk. Already this season, there have been run-fests as the venue while a typical turning surface has also come into play. Against PBKS, it was a red-soil track that had enough variable bounce and turn on offer. Fleming bemoaned the continuing trend of unpredictable surfaces at Chepauk but was also quick to congratulate the opposition for their clinical display.
“We have spoken about the unpredictability of wickets (in Chepauk),” said Fleming at the post-match press conference.
“Today the first ball bounced and hit Jinks (Rahane) in the helmet. Just trying to get a gauge on how it will play. Unfortunately we’re batting first a lot, which makes it difficult to gauge what a competitive score is. We got a couple of 200s, so that was on the mind today but it was a bit sticky. What was a good start in the first six overs then became difficult… We tried with the lefties, obviously Dube and then Jadeja was also an aggressive role which didn’t work, and Rizvi as well. We just couldn’t get anything through the middle.”
Put into bat, CSK were unable to get to a competitive score on a slowing surface that then got better with the dew factor for Punjab Kings’ run chase. The turning point of the game was the host’s middle-overs slowdown as they went from 55/0 in the PowerPlay to 90/3 by the 14th over with the PBKS spinners doing the choking job to perfection.
To be fair to the Super Kings, they did tinker with their batting line-up in an attempt to counter Punjab’s spin threat but the promotions of Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, to no.3 and no.4 respectively, didn’t work.
“Dube was a big part of that (six-hitting) and losing him today with their spinners was a great wicket for them. In terms of a left-arm spinner and a leg-spinner, it was a great matchup for Dube. We have seen him do really well this season but they won that one nicely and that then created pressure on our ability to continue to hit sixes and it was tough. Another thing is that it is a biggish ground, so if there is any kind of assistance, it’s hard square-wise to get boundaries. And they bowled well, they protected it well. Made it difficult for us,” Fleming said.
CSK’s innings saw just four sixes hit in total, all of which came after the 16-over mark. While the first six overs saw a flurry of boundaries, there were no maximums and the middle overs witnessed a drought even in the boundaries section. Dube’s first-ball duck severely dented CSK’s hopes of taking the game on in the middle overs and losing the other left-hander in Jadeja meant that the defending champions got into a soup with their right-handers against a left-arm spinner and a leg-spinner on a gripping surface. To their credit, Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar were relentless in their accuracy, exploiting the conditions to good effect.
“They bowled really well, they got good purchase and held onto it,” Fleming said. “So three good factors. We just got stifled through the middle, which prevented us from getting a score of, 180? I don’t think that would have been enough. There is a small window where the ball is dry and sticks in the wicket. Again it gets tricky to hold the ball and execute variations. They did the job well, they were aggressive enough and we were a bit off as well. It is a disappointing day, but it’s part of the IPL and we were on the wrong side of it. We were inaccurate with the bat and ball to compete.”
The other concern for CSK this season has been the lack of flying starts in the first six overs. While Rachin Ravindra did produce a few cameos early on to give Chennai blistering starts, his sharp dip in form along with the promotion of Ajinkya Rahane to the opener’s slot has seen the side struggling to get early impetus into the innings. Today, Rahane along with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad did add 55 runs in the PowerPlay but 32 off those came in the last two overs, suggesting a cautious approach in the previous four overs.
Rahane’s form has been a far cry from his jaw-dropping feats last season where the Mumbai batter constantly batted at a high tempo in the middle overs to give Chennai the upper hand. The 2024 season so far hasn’t been kind to Rahane who has looked rusty in his digs at the crease. His timing hasn’t been consistently good and the 35-year-old has often looked vulnerable while trying to take the bowling on. This has meant that CSK have often begun in a traditional format with the bat in a season where even scores of 250 have been chased down. Fleming, though, threw his weight behind the team’s approach and the out-of-form Rahane.
“I thought he (Rahane) was good today. He’s been probably a bit too aggressive in what he wants to do. Keep in mind, we’re batting on wickets here that we don’t know how they are gonna play. So we got to take a bit of a pause to see what a good score is. If you are 3 for 30, the game is pretty much over. We have gotten an assessment period which we want those two to do. Today was very good, 55 for no loss on that wicket was spot on. He looked good. It’s the next phase, (to ensure that) his hitting that was so good last year, is more crisp. It’s not for lack of intent. In fact, he has doubled up on intent. We’re fine with Jinks and the role he plays.”
For a team that believes in a settled batting order and clear roles within the group, CSK’s batting order shuffling through this season has been another odd characteristic from the Men in Yellow. While it also suggests the team’s flexibility in adopting to matchups, it does seem like the think tank has gotten into a muddled mindset. For instance, the batting promotions of Dube and Jadeja were on the money but the addition of Sameer Rizvi straight up as the impact batter was a debatable move. The youngster, also known for his prowess against spin, struggled considerably for momentum and this left an in-form Daryl Mitchell (fresh off a fifty) with negligible batting to do. Fleming accepted that the tactics were a mixed bag in the game.
“If you get through the first six overs and then spinners come on, it’s the perfect time for him (Dube) to come on. Next thing is with the left-right, we also have Jadeja who has been given a positive role but they bowled well. Rizvi one, maybe we will discuss a bit and go the other way around. Again he is positive, his ability to hit sixes has been good. But there is a temperament part of it that young players need to learn. The casualty is Mitchell going down the order. What we learnt in the first part of the tournament is that if it get too low, there are other players like Moeen and MS who can push the game along. The window closed there, but it was more about getting our tactics right, which was to break their spinners up but they won that competition.”
While the dew factor once again played a significant part at Chepauk, what also dented CSK was the absence of their two best bowlers of the season. Matheesha Pathirana had to be rested due to a niggle while Tushar Deshpande got sidelined due to a flu. It meant a debut for the franchise’s latest signing Richard Gleeson who endured an impressive outing, particularly with the new ball. However, CSK dearly missed the services of Deshpande and Pathirana who have been impactful at different phases for the team.
To make matters worse, Deepak Chahar hobbled off after bowling just two deliveries, leaving Chennai a bowler short in already difficult bowling conditions. With Mustafizur Rahman set to leave for national commitments after the next game, CSK’s bowling stocks do face a stern test. Fleming expressed his disappointment at the state of events and revealed the early signs around Chahar’s injury look ominous for the pacer.
“Deepak Chahar doesn’t look good. The initial feeling wasn’t good, now we’re hoping for positive news when the physio and doctor have a look. Sri Lankan boys are off for their visas, we’re hoping that their process is smooth and we get them back for the next game up north. Gleeson was good, was one of the positives. Losing Fizz (after the next game) is a blow, there is a lot going on, isn’t it? Tushar has got a bit of flu going on, so we missed him today. So we had to make some changes, but that’s part of it. We have got resources, they just haven’t got gametime to be comfortable with their roles.”
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad also echoed his coach’s sentiments regarding the fragile bowling attack that CSK had to contend with on the night. With the dew factor and a below-par score already stacking the odds against them, losing Chahar was the nail in the coffin for the side with the spinners being negligible due to the soapy conditions on offer. Gaikwad, who was far from his fluent best in his 48-ball 62, lamented at the drastic change in conditions across the two innings. According to the opener, CSK were way below the par score but he also felt that it was next to impossible to reach that total with the way the pitch played in the first half.
“Probably 50-60 runs short, the pitch wasn’t great when we batted, it got better later on. With the impact rule as well, we were well short. I’ve practiced the tosses (during the practice sessions), it’s not going well in the match, not sure what to do. To be truthful, I’m under pressure when I go to the middle (for the toss). We were also surprised that we won by a big margin in the last match considering the conditions (win by 78 runs against SRH). I think the last two games, the conditions and pitch was better, it allowed us to fight hard and get to 200+, today, it wasn’t good enough to get to even 180. It’s a real problem (on the player missing due to injuries and Chahar walking away in the first over), there are phases where you want wickets, but you have only two bowlers, the dew took the spinners out of the equation. It was tough, but there’re four games left and we will try and come back to winning ways.”
