Stephen Fleming doesn’t believe in fairy tales in sports but Ravindra Jadeja’s matchless batting to help Chennai Super Kings (CSK) win their fifth IPL title is close to a similar story. In the final against Gujarat Titans, CSK needed 13 runs to win in the last over but the team could only manage three runs in the first four balls.
Jadeja then snatched the victory from the Titans by hitting Mohit Sharma for a six and a four in the last two balls. Fleming told reporters after winning the Super Kings title, “They say there are no fairy tales in sports but today was a very good story.” The last 18 months were a bit difficult because captaincy was difficult, there were injury problems, he (Jadeja) came back after spending some time out of the game and made it into the Test team and then into the CSK team.
In fact, before Jadeja’s brilliant batting on the last two balls of Mohit, Fleming had accepted defeat in his mind. Fleming said, “We lost the final on the last ball which has been heartbreaking. I was preparing myself for heartbreak once again when Jadeja hit a six and after that heartbreak could have happened and happiness could have come too, I wasn’t sure.
He said, “But when I saw the ball going towards the boundary, it was absolute bliss. This competition takes you to such an emotional level that you cannot even imagine. ”Fleming praised Jadeja fiercely.
“He plays a great role with the ball, but we have so many batsmen that we use him lower down the order. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been very supportive and active in getting him there and today he has lived up to that trust.”
The CSK coach said his side performed poorly in the first half but got better and more confident as the rain-affected match progressed. He said, “215… I thought it was a good score but the rain came and we had to change the rhythm. We thought it was achievable given the moisture around the pitch. It required very good batting.
Fleming said, “The start was really important because we were still surprised by our fielding. Our confidence grew from the first four or six overs and once you get into the rhythm, it is the type of ground where it is difficult to defend, so we knew we had a chance. Praised Gujarat Titans bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma for carrying on.
He said, “The last few overs were very tight. Shami and Mohit bowled well, especially Mohit Sharma, who bowled very well. Rahane batted aggressively during this period and took risks.
Fleming said, “I think that got rid of the label that you are the kind of player who will keep batting at one end.” I think maybe it had too much effect on his mind and he wasn’t becoming the kind of player he could have been. Saw a guy in the middle of pre-training who was in great form.
Fleming said Rahane was not part of his initial plans. The former New Zealand captain said that the departure of Ambati Rayudu, who has retired from IPL, will leave a huge void in the team.
Fleming said, “Ambati Rayudu has been a great player. I rate him very highly as a batsman and those three balls against one of the most in-form bowlers, Mohit Sharma, proved it. Hitting sixes, fours and then sixes on that was class batting. “No doubt there will be a void leaving Rayudu but the game goes on. is not that so.”
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