“We don’t mess with things that are working well,” says CSK coach Stephen Fleming regarding batting order adjustments.

Stephen Fleming, head coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), supplied a straightforward explanation for promoting power hitters up the batting order. The statements were made after CSK was defeated by Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 32 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 27.

Rajasthan posted a mammoth first innings total of 202 runs, thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 77 runs off 43 deliveries. The Royals were also helped by Dhruv Jurel’s fiery cameo (34 off 15 deliveries), while Devdutt Padikkal scored a swift 27* off 13 balls.

Ruturaj Gaikwad responded by scoring 47 runs off of 29 deliveries. However, in-form batsmen such as Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane failed to generate momentum and were dismissed for eight and fifteen runs, respectively. In light of this, the CSK coach provided a straightforward response to a question regarding whether the think tank should add power batters to the top of the lineup.

“Set roles are extremely essential. At No. 3, [Ajinkya] Rahane has performed admirably for us. We don’t interfere with things that are running smoothly. Today was the first time we faced a team that slowed the ball down. In the first six overs, we were unable to gain any meaningful momentum, Fleming said in the post-game press conference.

“Devon Conway, who is in excellent form, was unable to begin. The tempo of the innings was sluggish. When we attempted to catch up, we made errors,” he continued.

Powerplay set the stage for their innings: Fleming
A disciplined Royals bowling unit limited CSK to 42 runs in the powerplay (overs 1-6) during the pursuit. Stephen Fleming, the head coach, also acknowledged that the host team capitalized on the powerplay overs, which essentially set the tone for the match.

“During the first six overs, they were exceptional with the bat and the ball.” That merely set them up for the next two innings. We could have performed better, but a portion of that is due to competing away from home – attempting to determine the ideal bowling length and swing conditions. This is part of the difficulty of playing away from home, Fleming concluded.