It’s all about dealing with pressure and calming nerves, said Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming as the two-time IPL winner prepared for a scrap with Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier of Pepsi-IPL-8 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday.
The winner will earn the right to play the title match to be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 24; the loser will proceed to Ranchi for a face off against the winner of the eliminator match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be played at Pune on Wednesday.
Smarter teamsThe former New Zealand captain who is a fountainhead of knowledge across all formats of the game and T20 in particular said: “This year the tournament has been very close. People are becoming smart about the way they put their teams together and also about the way they play at home.
“Teams that play well at home tend to have an advantage. We find that away games are more difficult.”
Fleming went on to say that his team needed to play smart and back itself.
“It’s a great occasion, Mumbai against Chennai. It’s a difficult game and a tough place to win, but that’s what we are here for. We didn’t expect an easy game in a play-off match and we have got a tough one.”
One small but brilliant moment could make the difference between winning the tournament and going home, he said.
“The consequences are that much more when you reach this stage of the tournament. It has been an excellent competition thus far and, perhaps, a couple of twists to go. The team which deals with that pressure and individuals who stand up will make the difference.”
CSK will be missing Brendon McCullum; in England for the Test series. “He’s an excellent player. It will impact a lot, but we had known about it for some time. Introducing Mike Hussey in the last game, even though he did not make a major contribution, was important.
“Dwayne Smith has a very good record here. We have been planning for this for some time. We would have liked to have given Hussey a bit more time. We were just not able to get that final win to give us the luxury of introducing players. I have every confidence in Hussey. He’s been one of our most consistent performers over the years and the way he trains suggests he would still be thereabouts.”
Raina’s roleOn Suresh Raina’s batting display so far, he said: “It’s not that he’s been batting badly, he’s been in excellent touch. It’s about just converting those starts into a score of note. And the last innings was good as he saw the game through and he likes playing at this ground. He’s one of those players we are hopeful will stand up.
“Big players rise to the big occasion and win matches. He’s certainly one of them. He’s done it for us a number of times He’s one guy we are attuned to. The beauty of this team is we have several players like that. Certainly it’s Raina, in the absence of McCullum, we will look to as the mainstay,” Fleming concluded.
