Stephen Fleming, CSK coach defended the decision to send Kedar Jadhav ahead of skipper MS Dhoni after CSK stumbled to a seven-run loss against SunRisers Hyderabad. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming saying the right-handed batsman Jadhav is a number four batsman while the CSK skipper is primarily a middle to backend player.
His remarks came after CSK failed to chase 165 runs and the side was restricted to 157/5, losing the game by seven runs against SunRisers Hyderabad.
Stephen Fleming: Kedar Jadhav Is No. 4 And Goes To Bat If CSK Lose Wickets Early
CSK found itself at a spot of bother at 26/2 while chasing 165 to win and it was then that Kedar Jadhav came out to bat ahead of MS Dhoni. The right-handed Kedar Jadhav only managed to score 3 runs off 10 balls and he was finally sent back to the pavilion by Abdul Samad.
“He is our number four, Dhoni primarily is a middle to backend player, Kedar Jadhav is our number four, he plays a dual role, if we get off to a good start he might move down and let Dhoni up. If you lose early wickets then your number four batsman goes in,” said Stephen Fleming while answering an ANI query during a virtual post-match press conference.
During the chase of 165, CSK found itself at 42/4 after a slow and sluggish start and it was then that MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja got together at the crease to form a 72-run partnership. Ravindra Jadeja went on to score his first IPL half-century and MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 47.
Talking about Jadeja’s innings, Fleming said: “Jadeja’s innings was good, we were in trouble so it meant Dhoni and Jadeja had to take their time. They got us pretty close and Dhoni’s momentum was pretty encouraging.”
Ravindra Jadeja scored 50 and coach Stephen Fleming credited him for his valuable innings which came off only 35 balls and included five fours and two sixes. Stephen Fleming credited the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni for taking them close to the target.
Stephen Fleming: Shane Watson And Kedar Jadhav Looking For Contributions
Shane Watson, who has not been in good form so far in this year’s IPL tournament, was sent back to the pavilion by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The right-handed batsman could only score one run off 6 balls.
“You do not want to put yourself under pressure and we have got players who are looking for some form. Faf du Plessis is a player who is in form and Rayudu is coming back from an injury. We are a bit disjointed but we do need contributions from our top four batsmen if we want to win the tournament, we are still backing our players,” Fleming said.
“Both Watson and Jadhav are looking for substantial contributions.” he added.
While batting first, SunRisers Hyderabad found itself in a spot of bother at 69/4 and big hitters like David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson were all sent back to the pavilion.
It was then that youngsters Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg got together at the crease to form an 83-run partnership. Priyam Garg remained unbeaten on 51 while Abhishek Sharma scored 31.
“We sat through the meeting, we discussed both Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg, there was footage available on them and a lot of planning was done for them. They both played really well, that’s youth for you, I think we got a bit sloppy from the 15th over onwards, I thought we could have bowled better at them but the bowling striking was very good,” Fleming said.
SunRisers Hyderabad will next take on Mumbai Indians on 4th October while CSK will play against Kings XI Punjab on the same day.