Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming on Sunday sought to defend the crew’s bowlers after a four-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings of their IPL 2023 match right here and stated the likes of Tushar Deshpande and Akash Singh have been doing a fairly good job.
“Not really. The boys have done well. You have to acknowledge (Tushar) Desphande, Akash Singh. They are leading the attack, a tough ask. On a wicket that was getting better with a little bit of dew, it was always going to be tough,” Fleming stated on the post-match press convention.
Fleming admitted that Punjab Kings has loads of huge hitters and taking wickets and holding their nerve turned necessary.
“You can find a lot of things to be critical. But you have to be realistic. Really good batting, some power batting from their hitters. It is a high pressure game and tough on bowlers at the moment,” Fleming stated.
Deshpande bowled the sixteenth over throughout the Punjab run-chase, wherein he conceded 24 runs, which proved to be essential within the last evaluation. Punjab scored the required three runs off the final ball.
The CSK coach stated the overall of 200 was a really aggressive one however the crew may have scored extra.
“We could have got a few more. The last four overs weren’t as productive as we would have liked. Any time you cross 200, we were well and truly in the game. The Impact Player has pushed totals up a little bit. Still a very competitive score,” he added.
On fellow New Zealander Devon Conway who has been in spectacular type and scored 92 not out on Sunday, Fleming stated, “Yeah, impressive. He just finds a way, doesn’t he. He doesn’t always look that good on the eye and other times he looks exquisite. He is just a player that finds a way. He has a game, he has a good strike rate, we are really happy with Devon’s contribution. Certainly the rock of the innings, we could bat around him.”
Fleming praised Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who performed an important hand in his facet’s win, and stated, “Jitesh has been very impressive. He is a very good striker of the ball. Quality stroke-playing right through the innings… Pretty tough on the bowlers. The new rule is good on batters but is making it tough for bowlers,” he added.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com