Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said on Saturday that the four-time winners are better prepared for the IPL final against Gujarat Titans than ever before as circumstances affected their performances. Fleming said CSK’s win-loss ratio remained around 50 percent as they would usually build and prepare their plows taking into account the conditions and pitches at their home site in Chepauk, but that is no longer the case. He said the team would be ready for any conditions – rain is expected during the final here on Sunday – and that they have erred in reading conditions and pitches in the past.
“We prepared so well for Chennai that sometimes we struggled with the conditions in away games, so the finals were always a bit of a challenge, and our record is about 50 per cent of winning the final,” Fleming said at the pre-season press conference to the match.
“Maybe it’s because of the style of the game we made – a victim of being so well-versed that we had to make adjustments when we went to a neutral location.” Fleming said CSK was “a little rounder” this year.
“It made it difficult to go back to Chennai (for Qualifier 1). I wanted to bowl (first) in the last qualifier and batting turned out to be the right choice and MS (Dhoni) was the other way in the last match game,” he said.
“So we are way off target in trying to get the conditions right, but the team is round enough to put together performances. Come to the final, we’re not worried about the conditions we’re going to get, there are now two pitches to choose from, but we’re not too worried. We are much better placed than we were in the past,” he said.
The former New Zealand captain said making early breakthroughs will be key for his side as GT batsman Shubman Gill’s red-hot form poses CSK’s biggest challenge. “He (Gill) plays really well. It (the plans) doesn’t really change, you hope you catch him early, you have enough firepower to create a chance. All we look at is when you got openers, when they are in such good shape there is a chance to get into the middle order.
“If we can get some early breakthroughs then (like) in the last game we played there is a chance. But we have to get past him, he’s playing very well,” said Fleming.
For someone who has won the IPL title four times with CSK, Fleming said it’s not easy to win the trophy back to back.
“So hard! It’s impossible, it’s going to be so hard for them (GT) to do it (laughs). No, they’re a good side; you have to say ‘very well done’ to what they’ve put up in a short time” , he said.
“I like the coaching staff very much, they are really balanced guys. Despite all his talking, Ashish has mastered the game very well, his enthusiasm is very high after working with him in Chennai. We have a lot of respect for what they’ve done, but it’s very hard to go back to back.” Gujarat Titans team director Vikram Solanki also returned the favour, but added that knowledge of the conditions at their ‘home base’ here should serve them well.
“We’re definitely better for the experience because we’ve played here, played here in the final (last year) and been successful in those big games. We’re better at that,” he said.
“We fully appreciate this kind of respect CSK has given. They have been a fantastic team for a number of years and we respect that. We are confident; what happens on the day is what happens on the day,” added Solanki.
Solanki praised GT’s bowling trio of Mohammad Shami (28 wickets), Rashid Khan (27 wickets) and Mohit Sharma (24 wickets), who are also the top three wicket takers in this IPL.
“If you look at the tournament as a whole, the impact player rule has had an impact on the number of batsmen playing, so wicket-taking becomes all the more important. We are always attacking, an attack capable of taking wickets in different conditions through different phases of the game,” he said.
“That’s our go-to, the ability to take wickets. All three have been quite brilliant this year, they have worked extremely hard and they deserve all the success that is coming their way.” The former England batsman said that at just 23 years old, he could set an example for young batsmen to model their batsman after.
“For a young man, he’s quite a brilliant technician when it comes to hitting. He would definitely be one of the examples you would want to use for young players on how to hit,” said Solanki.
“He has all the qualities of a world class player and he just shows his level of skill. Luckily for us he is in good shape, he works very hard on his game, not just in training. He is very aware of the opposition he faces face, where he is likely to benefit, what the dangers are, what things he will face.”
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