It’s not often that the Chennai Super Kings find themselves fighting at the start of an IPL season. This time, however, they lost key players even before the tournament began, and an injury to Ambati Rayudu has weakened their batting to the point where they have fallen out of contention within the first ten overs in consecutive chases. the last against Delhi Capitals on Friday ended in a 44-run loss.
His bowling alley hasn’t clicked yet either. Their attack is designed for spin-friendly conditions at the MA Chidambaram stadium rather than the fields they found in the UAE earlier this season, and their spinners, Ravindra Jadeja in particular, have struggled to find their rhythm.
Following their loss to the Capitals, their captain MS Dhoni and their head coach Stephen Fleming addressed these issues in their respective interactions with the media.
At batting
Dhoni: I feel like when it comes to the hitting department, we’re lacking a bit of steam. There is no momentum from the start, which hurts. If you’re already chasing 160-plus, your running speed keeps increasing and puts additional pressure on mid-order hitters. So we have to figure it out. We’re a heavy hitter for starters, but at the same time, if you’re looking to get one more lock or spinner on the side, then hitters need to take that extra pressure. I feel like Rayudu will be back in the next game, so it gives us some protection or freedom to try something different.
Flemish: Well, we are a bit confused at the moment. We are missing some key players and we are trying to find a balance that allows us to be competitive. We seek to develop a personality based on the terrain we face. Every wicket has been completely different, and our batting lineup is, without Rayudu, [Suresh] Raina etc, we are trying to find a way or a combination and how to use players, and give players opportunities early on, so that we know what we have as the tournament progresses. We have learned a lot during three days. Today’s performance was weak in terms of intention, but they (the Capitals) also played very well.
On the spinning skittles
Dhoni: The thing is, if you look at the entire bowling department, they haven’t been very consistent. So it’s not like you can change four out of five players. I think the spinners, yeah, they haven’t come to the party yet.
Flemish: Yes, it is an area of concern, because it has been a great strength for CSK, and you have to think that the style of play that we have developed over the last 12 years is very much based on effects. So what we’re trying to do is find, I guess, a different personality. Spin still plays a role, and what we’ve struggled to do so far [is] We have played on three different terrains, so each game has had different conditions. We’re struggling to adjust to find the rhythm and style to shoot down the middle, and that, in the last two games in particular, has been an area where we haven’t done so well. Moving from a fortress to an area of interest; we have to rectify that.
In the team combination
Dhoni: I feel like the next seven days are the best break we could ever have. We’ll give the guys a little more game simulation and come back with a clearer picture of what the best combination is, looking at how everyone is contributing.
Flemish: All bets are on the table right now as we try to find a way that we feel comfortable with. We really want to play several games here (in Dubai), so we were really interested in how this field was played and in getting the right conditions to be able to get the right combination. Right now we are really looking, both as players and managers, to get the right combination. We are too heavy if we play the extra hitter and too heavy if we play the extra player. We’re struggling a bit to find our momentum, but that will come with a little free time and experience from these three games.
On not promoting Sam Curran or Jadeja in the order
Flemish: We’ve used that tactic the last two games, but with Kedar Jadhav and also MS, we almost have too many hitting options right now, which is why I say we were a bit confused with what we are at. shipping, so we just need to be a little clearer with what we are doing, and perhaps what we are missing is a bigger contribution at the top. Yes, it’s a lot of question marks and a lot of introspection, particularly from a coach’s point of view and a strategic point of view, but we are trying to find combinations where we attract the best players at the right time. Keeping order everywhere is not really our style, but we have tried and will review how it went.
In the fast bowling alley
Dhoni: In general, if we become more consistent with our length, line and pace, it will be good when it comes to team selection … Not that we have been very consistent with fast bowling. We are making good deliveries, but in between, we are giving a limit opportunity. Maybe in fields like this, you know, bigger fields, it’s better to be consistent with one line and let the hitters play the big shot rather than trying too many things and giving them a chance to set a limit.
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