Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 1 (ANI): Despite Ruturaj Gaikwad’s recent batting troubles, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming remains confident in him and lauded the opener’s captaincy, emphasising that performance swings are to be expected in such a long competition.
However, the CSK team lost by 20 runs to the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The CSK captain struggled with the bat, being removed for only one run in the opening over by Khaleel Ahmed.
He also highlighted the team’s support for Gaikwad’s transformation, as well as the contributions of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja to his success. Gaikwad was appointed as the captain of the Chennai-based franchise just a day before the first match of the season.
“Very good. To transition into the job is not easy, but he’s done it seamlessly. We’re using MS as well, still as part of the decision-making. So he, along with Jadeja, providing leadership off the field, and he’s doing really well. He had a hard game to do today, and he did it well, within the time frames, which is important. His batting form has been fine in the nets and his demeanour off the field is excellent. So really positive around the captaincy,” Fleming said as quoted by CSK’s website.
The 27-year-old opener struggled with the bat in his first three outings. The right-handed batter scored 62 runs in three innings, with an average of 20.67 and a poor strike rate of 116.98. He hit 46 runs from 36 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans.
Fleming hailed veteran batter MS Dhoni’s remarkable stroke play in the death overs during the defending champions’s 20-run loss.
Dhoni (37*) set the fans back to 2011 as he pulled out some vintage shots from his arsenal, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Fleming hailed Dhoni’s art with the bat as he finished CSK’s chase in style, hitting a six on the final ball of the game to ensure that the five-time champions ended the day on a positive note.
“It was beautiful, wasn’t it? And even the one handed one, the one over mid-wicket, he has been playing incredibly well in pre-season. He’s coming back from a quite serious operation, so he’s rehabbing really well, but his batting has been superb. And that type of performance, it just gave us a bit of a positive vibe to the end of a tough day,” Fleming said, as quoted from CSK’s official website.
CSK will return to return to action against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. (ANI)
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