IPL 2019 | CSK are finding themselves behind in powerplays, says Stephen Fleming

In this season of the Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings have an average run rate of a little over six in the powerplay period. The poor form of Shane Watson has also not helped. Even in the qualifier against Mumbai Indians, CSK stuttered even before they could take off. They were reeling at 68 for four at the end of the 13th over, but kudos to a few lusty hits by MS Dhoni, the defending champions managed to up the run rate after the strategic break by scoring 63 runs in the last seven overs. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming felt that the team once again fell behind in the powerplay itself.

“It [pacing the innings] is tough. That is the problem we are finding, we are so far behind in Powerplays. We are doing things right from overs six to 20, the run rate today I think was seven and ten [in the last seven overs]. We’re getting the right runs there, we are just finding ourselves behind in powerplays,” he said at the post-match conference, reported PTI.

The wicket at the Chepauk was no different on Tuesday as the ball was sharply turning throughout the match. Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina and Shane Watson lost their wickets by playing rash shots as they were looking to score briskly. Post that, Murali Vijay and Ambati Rayudu were playing at run-a-ball for the most part. The coach defended his team’s slow run rate as he felt that trying to score aggressively on such a pitch may result in a batting collapse.

“You run the risk if you over-attacked in the middle in those conditions, you can find yourself bowled out for 100. So you’ve got to have an element of safety. By the time you get that it’s around 14 overs, from there we were able to go at 10 an over which got us through to a competitive score,” explained the 46-year-old.

“But we need to have more balance in the first six overs - around 40 would be nice. That may get you to a score of 150-160 which can be a match-winning score. We’re just falling behind at different stages but it’s the first six that’s holding us back. Maybe we just throw the shackles off and have a crack in the next game and see if we can just get ourselves into form and confidence.” 

Shane Watson was the highest run-getter for CSK in the last season and had played a major role in their title triumph. However, he has fared poorly in this season by only scoring 268 runs in 15 innings. Barring a 96-run innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Australian has nothing much to show. Nevertheless, Fleming reiterated that the side will continue to back proven performers like Watson.

“You have got to back them. We back players because they’re proven performers, doing all the right things, but it is just not working. This can be a cruel game, especially when you’re playing in conditions like this for over half the season. So we make quite balanced decisions or have quite robust discussions around it. And this year we’ve just backed the players we’ve got and will continue to do so,” asserted the former New Zealand captain.