Dubai: After suffering a 44-run defeat against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings` (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming admitted that the form of spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla is an area of concern for the side.
Jadeja has so far picked up just two wickets in the tournament and in the last two matches, the spinner has gone for runs. He ended up conceding more than 40 runs in his quota of four overs in the matches against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals. On the other hand, Chawla has picked up four wickets in the tournament so far, but the spinner conceded 55 runs from his four overs in the match against Rajasthan Royals.
“Yeah, it`s an area of concern because it has been one of the strengths for CSK and the style of play we have developed in the last 12 years, is heavily based on spin. So we are trying to find a different personality so spin definitely plays a part,” Fleming said while responding to an ANI query during the post-match press conference.
“We struggled with the fact that we have played on three different grounds and all of them have different conditions. We are struggling to adjust and find the pace and style to bowl through the middle. We have not bowled well in the last few games, so we need to rectify that,” he added.
CSK was unable to chase a total of 176 against Delhi and was restricted to just 131/7 stumbling to a 44-run defeat. Dhoni once again came out to bat at number six and walked out to the ground with CSK at 98/4 in the 16th over.
Talking about CSK`s approach during the chase, Fleming said: “We are a bit muddled at the moment, we are missing some key players and are trying to find a balance that allows us to be competitive. Again it comes to the spin bowling aspect, we are looking to develop a personality on the type of pitches we are getting. We are trying to find a combination without Raina and Rayudu. The performance against Delhi was on the weaker side in terms of intent. It has been an interesting six days and now we have the time to rectify the issues and there are a few of them.”
When asked as to why CSK opted to bowl first against Delhi, Fleming replied: “Yeah, we did think about batting first against Delhi, the dew aspect is a bit hit and miss thing at the moment, we are guessing a little in terms of conditions, we are learning on the hop and some of the stuff we learnt against Delhi will really be valuable.”
CSK has played three matches in the IPL so far and has managed to secure a win in just one against Mumbai Indians.The Dhoni-led side will now lock horns with SunRisers Hyderabad on October 2 at the Dubai International Stadium.
Source: Zee News