Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming was asked the same question for the fourth time in a row about skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting position, after the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.
Dhoni, who has come at number 7 and number 6 in the batting order in previous games, came in at number 5 on Friday. Tired of being asked the same question, again and again, Fleming was surprised that this was indeed a question when Dhoni came into bat on Friday, when CSK were 36-3 with14 overs remaining.
After that reaction, Fleming answering the question said that Kedar Jadhav is their number 4 and that’s why he came in.
“Dhoni is our middle to back-end player and Kedar Jadhav is our number 4. He plays dual roles, where if we get a good start, he might move down, [move] Dhoni up but when you’re losing early wickets, your number 4 batsman goes in.”
On CSK struggling with the bat in the first 10 overs and being left with too much to do in the end, Fleming said that it is a concern. “We need contributions from top 4 if you are going to win the tournament. So, we need to get some form from some of our big players who are at the top, so still backing them.”
When asked about the forms of Shane Watson and Kedar Jadhav, the 47-year old said that both are looking for substantial contributions. “Shane, we know, can light the fuse at any stage and Kedar the same, fourth game and it’s still pretty early in terms of our cycle of form, but no doubt, there’s pressure and they’ll be feeling it.”
In all the four matches that CSK have played, they have batted in the second innings and Shane Watson has had scores of 4, 33, 14 and 1 and Jadhav has 22, 26 and 3 in the three games he has batted. And, due to them losing early wickets, they haven’t been able to set any platform for their middle-order, which has to do the bulk of the scoring.
Fleming also shed light on his side’s bowling performance and after having Sunrisers at 69/4, they couldn’t squeeze the game there. Commending the two youngsters Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma, the CSK coach added that his side was patchy in the last 4-5 overs and their rhythm as a team is just off and could cost them in a tight competition.
We just got to get it right, we just got to get a bit of confidence and a bit of game rhythm and guys in form and it can change pretty quickly. But, also if you don’t address it, otherwise, it can slide away.Stephen Fleming, Coach, CSK
Fleming also complimented Ravindra Jadeja for scoring a fifty, saying that as he got time in the middle, he kept getting better. As they lost early wickets and both Dhoni and Jadeja had to balance between keeping wickets and keep up with the scoring rate.
After coming in at 42/4 in the 9th over, Jadeja alongside MS Dhoni stitched a slow partnership for 4-5 overs before going for his shots and eventually scoring his first fifty in the IPL.
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