T20 2018: No chopping and changing required, says Stephen Fleming

Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik walks back after his team's win as Chennai players look dejected at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. Pic/PTI

The deep disappointment that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't quite hide at the presentations after the six-wicket defeat to Kolkataon Thursday was echoed by Stephen Fleming soon after. The Chennai coach was, however, quick to announce that they were not about to get sucked into "knee-jerk" responses. "One bad game where the bowling looks a little bit off and you don't get too carried away," Fleming said, reminding that it's, "always been the philosophy of Chennai and Dhoni". "It's too easy to buy into mistakes in one game and start chopping and changing. You got to identify the things that went wrong and, if they can't be rectified, then, maybe, make a change or two," added the former New Zealand skipper.

Fleming defends bowlers
The ease with which their opponents chased down a competitive target of 178 has brought back the focus on Chennai's bowling unit. "Look, those guys bowled us to a win [stopping Delhi 13 short of a total of 211]," Fleming reminded. "We needn't be too knee-jerk, and make sure to run the sequence long enough for true form to come through."

Stephen Fleming

Jadeja's butter fingers
Fleming, 45, pointed to telling slips in the field, particularly the two catches Ravindra Jadeja dropped off successive deliveries in the second over of the innings. They allowed Sunil Narine to get away and score a quickfire 32. "It was part of it," Fleming nodded when asked how much fielding lapses cost them the match. "Even good fielders making mistakes...," he said. "We had opportunities but we didn't take them. As a team we can't afford to do that. We are not that good a side that we can have bad days and still win. We didn't compete." While the early slips proved costly, the coach seemed more disappointed with Jadeja's batting. "He scored at run-a-ball; he has to score more if he has to fill that role [as a finisher]," Fleming said.

Gill, a special talent: Chawla
Shubman Gill (57'), promoted to No. 4 in the absence of Nitish Rana, made the most of the promotion as he and skipper Dinesh Karthik took Kolkata to the target. "Watching him at the camp, I knew he's a special talent and he's proved that today," said Kolkata spinner Piyush Chawla.

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