Chennai Super Kings Struggle Again in IPL 2025: Coach Stephen Fleming Critiques Fielding
CSK's Fielding Woes Continue
Mullanpur (Punjab) [India] - On April 9, Chennai Super Kings' head coach Stephen Fleming expressed his disappointment regarding his team's fielding performance after their fourth consecutive loss in the ongoing IPL 2025 season against Punjab Kings.
The Super Kings struggled significantly in the field, missing crucial opportunities that could have changed the game's outcome. Their ongoing saga of dropped catches persisted, with two key misses allowing Priyansh Arya to unleash a remarkable 39-ball century.
In the very first over, Khaleel Ahmed was dismissed after being caught and bowled for just six runs. Later, Mukesh Choudhary dropped a catch at long-off off Ravichandran Ashwin when Arya was aggressively batting at 73.
CSK's misfortunes didn't stop there. The five-time champions faced further setbacks when Shashank Singh, known for his explosive batting, was given a second chance after Ravindra dropped a straightforward catch off Noor Ahmad in the 17th over.
Fleming reflected on the match, stating, “The game was really lost in the field. We were sloppy and lacked precision under pressure. Arya's innings put us under strain, but we need to perform better in critical moments.”
He added, “We fell short by 18 runs in a significant chase, and while we can point to a few missed sixes, it has been a frustrating season. Our catching has been subpar, although both teams struggled in that area tonight.”
For the first time this season, CSK's opening pair successfully navigated the powerplay while chasing Punjab's imposing target of 220 runs. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra dominated the Punjab bowling attack, scoring 61 runs in just 6.3 overs.
However, after a promising start, CSK faltered in the middle overs, losing Rachin (36) and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) cheaply. As the required run rate climbed to 17 in the final four overs, Conway was replaced by Ravindra Jadeja.
MS Dhoni made a quick contribution of 27 runs off 12 balls, including three sixes, but was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal on the first ball of the last over, leaving CSK 18 runs short of victory.
“On the positive side, we batted better today. Our top order showed more substance, which was previously lacking, allowing us to construct a chase. However, we couldn't maintain a good run rate in the middle overs, making it too challenging towards the end. Still, we were competitive for a longer period, which is encouraging,” Fleming concluded.