'Just because we don't...' - CSK head coach Stephen Fleming's 'no nonsense' rebuttal to criticism after defeat against RCB

Friday, March 28, 2025, happened to be one of the historic days for Chennai Super Kings in their IPL history as they lost in their den against RCB since they lost it last time in IPL 2008. The Rajat Patidar-led side defeated CSK by a margin of 50 runs to breach the ‘Chepauk’ fortress of CSK.

Meanwhile, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming also faced and countered the criticism he received on CSK’s ‘brand of cricket’. Fleming was asked if this ‘brand of cricket’ has been outdated, considering their performance in the previous game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

We've got firepower all the way through – Stephen Fleming

The former New Zealand great defended his five-time champion side in the history of the Indian Premier League. Fleming felt that the yellow outfits had enough ‘firepower’ and should not be ‘discounted’ just after one defeat.

“What do you mean, my way of playing (cricket)? Winning the first game is a good way to play. We've got firepower all the way through. I don't understand this question. Just because we don't swing (the bat) from ball one and have a little bit of luck go our way, we'll see at the end,” said Stephen Fleming after CSK lost to RCB by 50 runs as they could score only 146 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the entire 20 overs.

“It's a positive brand of cricket, no doubt about it, but don't discount us. It's a silly question; no, we didn't get it right. It's so hard to read (the pitch), but we thought it was going to skid on with the dew, but it got a bit tacky. So, it certainly made it harder. A couple of half chances, one or two, it's a real chance. It's just a little bit clumsy. They came very hard, and we had opportunities to really peg them back, but we just let them off the hook. A score of 175 would have been more realistic, but we just weren't good,” he added later.