The CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has made a statement on home advantage following the side’s 50-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 on March 29.
He stated that Chennai struggled to read the nature of the pitches at their home ground in recent years. CSK suffered their first home loss to the Royal Challengers since 2008 after they failed to chase the target of 196.
After CSk’s batting order failure, they scored only 146 runs in their innings. At the post-match conference, Stephen Fleming said that Chepauk’s pitches have not been as favourable to spinners in recent years.
“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” said Stephen Fleming.
“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,” he added.
The former New Zealand skipper pointed out that there was a time when the team could play four specialist spinners at Chepauk. He added that they must put in extra effort to assess the changing pitch conditions, which have become unpredictable.
“It’s not the Chepauk [of old] where you can just go in and play four spinners,” Fleming said. “We’re having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it’s quite different.”
Stephen Fleming was questioned about CSK’s batting coach in the same press conference. He added that the team possesses as much as firepower as any other side. Fleming assured that CSK plays an aggressive brand of cricket and should not be underestimated.
“We talk about firepower, we have firepower all the way through. 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.”
The Super Kings are currently slipped to seventh place on the points table, with their net run rate taking a hit after the heavy defeat.
They will aim to bounce back when they take on Rajasthan Royals on March 30 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
