IPL 2018: We Were Never In The Chase After The First 10 Overs , Says Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming rued the lack of partnerships after Delhi Daredevils thrashed his side by 34 runs on Friday.

It looked like a regulation chase for the Super Kings after they restricted the Daredevils to a modest 162 for 2. Ambati Rayuduand Shane Watson added 46 runs for the first wicket to set the tone for the chase. Amit Mishra broke the stand by sending back Watson for 14 who took 23 balls to score those runs.

In-form Ambati Rayudu went on to complete his fifty off 28 balls but was out on the very next delivery. At the end of the tenth over, Super Kings were 70 for 2. From thereon, the Super Kings failed to get going as the asking rate kept on mounting. At the end of the 15th over, the Super Kings were 94 for 4. They needed an improbable 50 from last two overs at that time and were eventually restricted to 128 for 6.

“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,” Fleming told the media.

“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 were never in the chase after the first 10 overs once we started to lose wickets,” he added.

Super Kings would have restricted the Daredevils to a total less than 150 after reducing them to 97 for 5. However, Harshal Patel and Vijay Shankar’s 65-run stand off 32 balls helped the hosts 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.

Death bowling has been a constant problem for the Super Kings this season. However, Fleming did not sound too worried.

“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 them.