IPL 2020: CSK coach Stephen Fleming feels his side lacked bit of penetration with ball in hand

After defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 10 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming said that his side lacked a bit of penetration with the ball in hand.

His remark came as CSK chased 179 runs without losing any wickets and with 14 balls to spare. With this, CSK has moved to the sixth position in the IPL standings with four points from five matches.

Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis remained unbeaten on 83 and 87 respectively for CSK. KXIP has now lost four matches out of five and the side now faces an uphill battle to make it to the playoffs.

"We had moments with the ball, we lacked a bit of penetration, but in hindsight, we were none down and it was hard to get anything going on this wicket. But we kept our structure really well, our fielding was steady at best, I was just animated around the little things we need to do. We still have some work to do there, the key moment for me was overs 17-20, we conceded around 40 runs, it could have been more than that. Other games have been going for a bigger number, but we were able to keep them to 40 so that was pleasing," Fleming said during the post-match press conference.

For KXIP, skipper KL Rahul top-scored as he played an innings of 63 runs from 52 balls to take the side's score to 178/4.

For CSK, Shardul Thakur was the pick of the overs as he returned with the figures of 2-39 from his four overs.

Talking about Watson and Faf's unbeaten partnership, Fleming said: "It certainly helps, most of the teams who are playing well, generally they are getting runs from their first three batters. When you do not get that, it is bits and pieces here and there and it can make you look a bit patchy. But performances like that cover up many things, by no means we are where we want to be. But individual performances help, Faf has been in form and if Watto finds form it will make us a lot more competitive."

"Shane did not do anything different which is the strength of the champion player. If Shane would have been looking out of touch in the nets, then it would have been a selection issue. He has been doing his work and it was a matter of time before he scored runs. If Shane gets on a role, he would be hugely important for us," he added.

When asked as to what the reasons behind the CSK franchise always backing its players, Fleming replied: "It helps as players know they get a lot of opportunities more often than not. If we see an area where we are not happy, we will look to address it and if it happens by changing players, we will look at it. But if the players are doing the right things, we will look to back them for as long or even longer as possible."

CSK will next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on October 7.

(ANI)

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