Chennai, March 29 Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming admitted that his team has been struggling to understand the conditions at Chepauk in recent years, following their crushing 50-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025.
Despite building a spin-heavy squad at the auction, CSK found themselves undone by a surface that favored seam bowling. RCB pacers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar exploited the conditions brilliantly, combining for figures of 7-0-41-4 to derail CSK’s chase of 197.
"Well, as we've been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk," Fleming said after CSK's biggest defeat at home. "We've won away from home a couple of times. And we haven't been able to read… we've been really honest with you. We haven't been able to read the wickets here in the last couple of years. So, it's not new. We are trying to come to grips each day with what we get, and we don't know.”
Chepauk, once known for aiding spinners, has undergone a drastic shift in character. In IPL 2024, the venue saw pacers take 74 wickets, while spinners managed just 25. Despite CSK’s spin-heavy approach in squad selection, the conditions have not played to their strengths.
"It's not the Chepauk [of old] where you can just go in and play four spinners," Fleming acknowledged. "We're having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it's quite different."
CSK had banked on dew playing a role in the second innings, hoping it would aid their chase. However, the surface only got slower, making stroke play increasingly difficult.
"No, we didn't get it right," Fleming admitted. "It's so hard to read, but we thought it was going to skid on with the dew, but it actually got a bit tacky. So, it certainly made it harder here."
CSK’s methodical approach to batting, which relies on building innings rather than explosive starts, came under scrutiny once again. However, Fleming pushed back against criticisms that the team lacked firepower.
"We talk about firepower; we have firepower all the way through," he asserted. "I don't understand this question. Just because we don't swing from ball one and have a little bit of luck go away, we'll see at the end. Just see at the end who wins it. It's a positive brand of cricket, no doubt about it, but don’t discount us.”
--IANS
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