IPL 2021: Losing three games in a row is a matter of concern – Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has admitted that losing three matches in a row is a matter of concern for the team. CSK was on a roll in the second phase of the tournament but they have lost the momentum in the last three games.

Thus, it is not a good sign as CSK will enter the playoff stage on the back of three losses. Furthermore, CSK lost by a huge margin against Punjab Kings as the KL Rahul-led team chased down the target of 135 runs in 13 overs.

CSK hasn’t been able to come up with a good batting performance in their last couple of matches. Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad have done the bulk of the scoring for the team but apart from them, no other batter has been able to get going in the season. The middle-order hasn’t been able to grab its chances and it has led to the downfall of the team in the last couple of games.

“You have to be concerned when you lose three games in a row. Batting first, coming to grips with setting a total, I think it has been a little tricky going around the venues trying to find the target scores,” Fleming said after their six-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings.

“I am not overly worried going forward because it can change very quickly. You always get a couple on the way. In my experience, it has always been the case. We have a little bit of leeway. “The confidence and the method that we use, we have to tune that up in the next couple of days,” added Fleming.

On the other hand, Fleming added that the team hasn’t been able to come up with collective batting performance. Faf du Plessis was the lone warrior for the team against PBKS and the MS Dhoni-led team could not find any kind of impetus in their batting innings.

“We could not find a method to get any fluency into our batting, trying to find the best way to take the bowling on…It was probably a bit slow. Getting the pace of the wicket and trying to find the tempo to create a score. We just came up a short. Whenever we get close, we lose a wicket. It was a much pretty stunted effort in the first innings to keep us below par,” he said.

CSK will look to turn the tables and they are most likely to face Delhi Capitals in the first qualifier.