CHENNAI : Chennai Super Kings got a warm reception after landing in Chennai on Monday. Players were received by team officials at the airport. Fans greeted them at the airport and hotel. Hero of the final, Shane Watson received a big round of applause from the fans. So did Dwayne Bravo. Skipper MS Dhoni was almost mobbed by fans who wanted to greet him. Soon after that, coach Stephen Fleming and CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan shared their thoughts on the triumph. Selecting personnel according to the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents has always been MS Dhoni’s forte.
Most experts expected off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the final considering two left-handers at the top of the SunRisers Hyderabad batting order, but he picked Karn Sharma, who took the big wicket of Kane Williamson. Was the move aimed at surprising the rivals? “If you look at the last few games we played, Harbhajan didn’t bowl a lot, so it was a case of what the skipper felt. He wanted a good option against right-handers,” revealed Fleming.
“There was a lot of discussion, on whether to open with spinners, their combination. Both Harbhajan and Karn have got wickets. It was the captain’s choice.” At one stage it looked as if SunRisers Hyderabad would get past 200, but Chennai’s bowlers managed to restrict them to a gettable score. “I was happy because their total could have been a lot more.
The last two overs of Lungi (Ngidi) and Shardul (Thakur) were really important. I thought 18 in the last two overs was a good effort by the bowlers.” What prompted them to pick Watson, who had struggled last year at Royal Challengers Bangalore. “Kasi was very fond of Shane. And whatever he says, I have to follow,” said Fleming. “We had seen at the Big Bash League that his form had returned and we also wanted to be able to use him in a different way.
We have always liked multi- dimensional players. Once he realised that he has some limitations, he looked after himself very well. In the end, we didn’t need his bowling.” The former New Zealand batsman said it was not easy to move out of Chennai and play in Pune. “Most of the plans were to build a team according to Chennai’s conditions but those things weren’t in our control. Moving out was a difficult decision. We knew the conditions in Pune (Fleming was coach of Rising Pune Supergiant last year). We had to change the way we play. Experience enabled us to do that.
It was a big change but we had to get on with it. It wasn’t one or two players dominating. It was a squad effort. We went back to players who are loyal. We stuck together through thick and thin,” said Fleming on the challenges the team faced. CSK Cricket Limited hosted a dinner in honour of the victorious team. Former BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is Managing Director of India Cements, one of the main sponsors of CSK, attended the dinner and complimented the players for their good show. ashok.v@newindianexpress.com