IPL 2025: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has said that his side have "no home advantage" at Chepauk. His words come after the defeat against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as the visitors beat the hosts by 50 runs in match no. 8 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Fleming was clearly not in a good mood as he was engaged with a journalist after getting asked about the brand of cricket that CSK plays.
Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first against RCB. Rajat Patidar-led side smashed 196 in 20 overs and CSK failed to chase down the target. As a result, RCB registered their first victory at Chepauk since 2008.
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During the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Fleming, "In the first game, you chased 156 in almost 20 overs. Today, you scored 146. I know this is your way of playing cricket, but do you think it's kind of getting outdated?"
CSK head coach clearly not impressed by the question replied, "What do you mean by my way of playing?" The reporter later on tried to reason with him giving example of other sides going aggressive from ball one for big scores.
The former New Zealand cricketer then said, "You talk about firepower. We have got firepower all the way through. I don't understand this question. Just because we don't swing from ball No.1 and have some luck go our way, just see the end, who wins it. It is a positive brand of cricket. Don't discount us."
The discussion continued as the reporter attempted to defend his position. "I am not discounting you." To this, Fleming replied, "You sort of are. Silly question."
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Stephen Fleming admitted that his team has struggled to read the pitches in Chennai for some time, leading him to believe there is no true "home advantage."
"Well, as we've been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk. 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," said Fleming during the post-match press conference.
"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. It's not the Chepauk [of old] where you can just go in and play four spinners. We're having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it's quite different," he added.
In the 2024 tournament, the pitches in Chennai offered little support to spinners, despite CSK's traditional reliance on them. Last season, pacers took 74 wickets at the venue, while spinners managed only 25.
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