IPL 2020: Stephen Fleming Reveals Why MS Dhoni Batted at Number 7

Coach Stephen Fleming said that the execution by the spinners early in the innings was not up to the mark.

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming revealed why Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kedar Jadhav came in before skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after their loss to Rajasthan Royals in their second game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

“Coming back from not playing a huge amount of cricket, so the expectation to see him at his best is going to take some time but his hitting towards the back end was pretty good,” Fleming said. He also added that there are questions about him playing ahead every year, but he is their specialist finisher and is going to continue to do that.

The New Zealand national said that it was not the batting he was worried about, praising the South African Faf du Plessis for his innings of 72 (37).

“There are these questions every year (of MS Dhoni coming late in the batting order) but he is our specialist finisher as he has done and is going to continue to do that.”

Stephen Fleming, Coach, CSK

Fleming also admitted that the CSK spinners were slow to adjust to the surface. “The hitting was too good in there in the first six or eight overs and we bowled too overpitched and slow at the start,” he added.

He also shed light on changes in the batting order with Sam Curran coming in at No 4. “Curran was there to hit and keep us ahead of the game at that point when we were falling behind and he’s got good hitting power which we saw,” he said.

The 47-year-old also mentioned the possibility of du Plessis batting at the top, being in such a good form and Ambati Rayudu getting injured just before they left for the game.

The CSK coach also talked about the little comeback in the bowling innings. “We didn’t adjust, the intent was there but the execution was poor. [Not just Samson] Steve Smith was playing well also so it was a dangerous time and we just to had hang in there,” he said. Fleming also rued the fact that they did come back into the game but the last little burst from Jofra Archer put the game out of their reach.