The Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Defending IPL champion Chennai Super Kings by six wickets handing them their second straight loss of the 2024 season.

Speaking to the media following the game, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming partially blamed his hitters for not extending their score to 180+ even though they had the opportunity.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra gave the visitors a good start, but the primary issue was that SRH’s bowling unit kept picking up wickets at regular intervals.

Following Ruturaj and Ravindra’s departures, number three and four batters Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube attempted to steady the ship, but they were unable to do so.

Another major blunder committed by the Stephen Fleming-led CSK management was to select the out-of-form all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at number five rather than some heavyweights like Moeen Ali and Daryl Mitchell. It was Jadeja’s sloppy performance throughout his inning that ultimately cost them the game.

Hyderabad bowlers had a fantastic last 5 overs that well and truly changed the complexion of the game and restricted CSK from getting to their supposed target of 180+.

Stephen Fleming was extremely critical about the way his batters played and he didn’t hold back with his thoughts during the post-match press conference at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium.

When asked to comment on his team’s performance Stephen Fleming said that the batsmen were unable to build on their strong start in the first ten overs.

Fleming said CSK was in a good position early on and could have reached 180-190, but the head coach praised SRH’s bowling in the final 5-6 overs.

“I think the first 10 overs we were in a good position I thought. It might would have been a high-scoring game but we felt it was on the slower side. But the last 5 overs in particular, you’d have to give credits to the way they bowled.”

“It turned the game on and trying to push on and get to that 180-190, we just ran into the ground, it’s very difficult. So maybe in hindsight, you’d maybe want to pile down a little bit and knock it into the ground but we still thought 180-190 was a possible score given our position so sometimes you have to say well bowled (to the opposition).”- says Stephen Fleming to reporters in the Rajiv Gandhi stadium

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