“It was like Niagara Falls in terms of the wetness” – CSK coach Stephen Fleming reasons bowling Shivam Dube in costly 19th over

The 19th over changed the complexion of the contest as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) plundered 25 runs off Shivam Dube to win by six wickets. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming opined that spinners didn't bowl because of dew, adding that the game hinged on that one over.

With 12 balls left, it was CSK’s match to lose as 34 runs were required. But six of those deliveries were to be bowled by either of the two spinners - Ravindra Jadeja (21 conceded from 2 overs) or Moeen Ali (14 from 1 over) - and the rest by debutant Mukesh Choudhary.

Comparing the dew tonight to the “Niagara Falls”, Fleming reasoned that the spinners would have struggled to grip the ball. He further added that LSG were waiting to cash in on that one critical over.

“If you’d looked earlier on, spinning options were taken out of play. Because it was like Niagara Falls in terms of the wetness and they [LSG] played well. So it was very hard to, one, grip the ball for a spinner and, two, to be effective. So early on, we were one over short but they played well. We always knew we had to pick up an over somewhere – we were hoping to be able to create enough of a run-rate towards the end that we could squeeze someone in.

“Whether that was another spinner, the decision was made in the middle to use Dube, and they counted it well. So we always knew that one over was going to be pivotal and I think they did as well, but they played it very well,” he said in response to a Sportskeeda query at the post-match press conference.

Former skipper MS Dhoni tossed the ball, along with some words of advice, to Shivam Dube to bowl the penultimate over. And that was the beginning of the end for CSK. After Ayush Badoni started the over with a pick-up six, Evin Lewis (55* off 23) finished with two boundaries and another maximum. Choudhary (0 for 39), bowling the final over, had 9 runs in the bank, which Badoni (19* off 9) polished off with three balls to spare.

After setting a target of 211, CSK failed to make early inroads. But Fleming praised young guns Tushar Deshpande and Choudhary, the two new-ball bowlers. He stated that they had to go on the defensive post the 10th over, courtesy the heavy dew.

“We’ve got some young guys – playing Mukesh for the first time, Deshpande has played a little bit before. But I thought it was really honest. It’s really tough out there - you can’t appreciate how wet that ball is and the outfield is. So it’s very difficult to get any aggressive play, I think we were bowling defensively from about 10 overs onwards. I thought they hung in really well, started really well in tough conditions,” Fleming, who played for CSK in the inaugural season, explained.

The Super Kings, though, must be tearing their hair out over the unavailability of three premier bowlers in Deepak Chahar, Chris Jordan and Adam Milne.

“Adam Milne has had some treatment, he’s hopefully not too far away. Chris Jordan, also, hopefully not too far away, and of course Deepak Chahar. So we are a bit of resource down with our fast bowling, but at some stage, all teams will find they are a little bit skinny in some areas,” the CSK chief added.

Earlier, the entire CSK batting line-up rose to the occasion to pepper balls to all parts of the stadium. Robin Uthappa (50 off 27) kickstarted the proceedings, before Shivam Dube (49 off 30) and MS Dhoni (16* off 6) delivered the final flourish.

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“Pretty hard fielding second at the moment” – Fleming explains CSK's inability to defend

Evin Lewis was adjudged the Player of the Match for smashing the fastest 50 of the season [Credits: IPL]

In addition to batters hitting through the line, a lasting memory was fielders diving along the turf to see water getting splashed all over.

Admitting that 210 was just “about par”, Fleming iterated that the conditions in Maharashtra are heavily stacked in favour of chasing sides.

“We thought it was about par, and that’s the nature of the conditions at the moment – they very much favour the team batting second. We did well to get to 210, but we were always realistic that it was going to get harder as the night went on. So we worked very hard to stay in the game, to be honest. Defensively, I thought we were great. After about 10 overs, we just knuckled down and I thought we were fantastic to stay in the game. But it’s pretty hard fielding second at the moment,” the 48-year-old remarked.

CSK, who have yet to play in the IPL this season, will face the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at this venue on Sunday, according to the IPL schedule 2022. On Monday, LSG will face the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the DY Patil Stadium.

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