‘KKR hung in there, didn’t let us accelerate’ – Stephen Fleming disappointed after CSK’s dismal batting performance

Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) head coach, was disappointed after MS Dhoni and Co lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 10 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Chasing 168, the Super Kings were cruising after the first 10 overs. Shane Watson scored a half-century and was looking good to take his team through to their third victory.

However, once Sunil Narine pinned the CSK opener, things went downhill and the Yellow Army could only muster 68 runs in their final 10 overs. Fleming, expressing his agony, said that CSK allowed the Knights to get a foothold back into the game. The coach said that Narine made it tough for them after the latter was introduced in the second-half of their run-chase.

CSK couldn’t accelerate in the end, says Fleming

“The performances like today, with the experience we’ve got, we should put it away. Ideally, you want one batsman to bat through. If you give an opening to an IPL team, they’ve got quality players to take it. Today with Narine holding overs back, it made it very difficult in the end,” Fleming was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

“You are looking at players going on and making 75 or more and continue that partnership for five more overs, the game would have been a lot more different. KKR hung in there and put pressure on us. We couldn’t accelerate in the end. We are disappointed that we let it slip,” he added.

Apart from Watson, Ambati Rayudu looked calm, scoring 30 off 27 with three fours. In the lower-order, Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja scored a combined tally of 38 runs from 20 balls with four fours and two sixes, but their efforts went in vain. Skipper Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav had a rough day as they couldn’t even score at a run-a-ball.

Even as the victory took the Knights to third in the points table, the Super Kings are placed fifth. Dhoni and Co are next scheduled to lock horns with Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday, October 10 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.