CSK head coach Stephen Fleming against making changes in batting order despite loss to RR

Even after losing against RR, CSK coach Stephen Fleming doesn’t want to tinker with the batting lineup.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) might have failed in their run-chase against Rajasthan Royals (RR) but head coach Stephen Fleming said they didn’t feel the need to change the batting order as they “don’t mess with things that are going well”.

Chennai Super Kings were not in rhythm in their chase of the 203-run target set by Rajasthan Royals. Sanju Samson had won the toss and chosen to bat first on a kind of sluggish Jaipur pitch.

However, Yashasvi Jaiswal hit 4 sixes and 8 fours in his whirlwind knock of 77 in 43 balls, and with brilliant contributions from Dhruv Jurel (34) and Devdutt Padikkal (27*) RR posted the first-ever 200-plus total at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Indian Premier League history.

In reply, Devon Conway (47) and Shivam Dube (52) did well to force the pace in the innings but failed to do so.

We could have been better- Stephen Fleming-CSK coach

Set a target of 203, CSK managed 170 for six to suffer a 32-run loss, their third defeat in eight matches this IPL season.

Asked if CSK could have sent some of their big hitters up the order, Fleming said, “The set roles are very important. (Ajinkya) Rahane has been great for us at No. 3. We don’t mess with things that are going well. It was just today we came up against a team that took the pace off the ball. We couldn’t get any real momentum in the first six overs.”

Devon Conway, who is in outstanding form, couldn’t get underway. The rhythm of the innings was slow. When we tried to catch the game up, we made mistakes,” he added.

Fleming admitted they lost the match in the powerplays, saying the opposition was “outstanding” with both the bat and ball in the first six overs.

“The first six overs, they were outstanding with the bat and the ball as well. That just set the two innings up for them. We could have been better, but part of that is playing away from home — trying to find out the right length to bowl, what sort of swing conditions we are going to get. That’s part of the challenge of playing away,” Fleming said.

“This pitch was a lot different in appearance than the last one. It played well. It was starting to get a bit slower towards the end, but Rajasthan played a great home game. They came out of the blocks really well. Jaiswal played a great innings to create some momentum. We came back quite nicely in the game. We were a little bit unlucky. In the last 3-4 overs, just with a few nicks, probably 16-20 runs more than what we thought. That’s just how the game goes. Those extra 20 runs made it quite tough,” Fleming signed off.