IPL 2020: CSK coach Fleming explains why Jadhav was sent ahead of Jadeja, Bravo against KKR

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has explained the reason behind Kedar Jadhav batting ahead of Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja during their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday.

Chasing KKR's target of 168, Jadhav walked out to bat after the dismissal of MS Dhoni but struggled to connect as he managed just seven runs from 12 deliveries and his knock included a boundary. In the end, CSK fell short by 10 runs and claimed their fourth loss in six games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

CSK received major criticism for sending Jadhav at No. 6 when they needed 39 runs from 18 balls. Jadhav failed to get off the mark in the first five deliveries he had faced before he struck a four. In the next five balls, Jadhav again struggled as he managed to take just two singles.

"At the time, we thought that Kedar could play the spinner well and dominate, while Jadeja was there to come and finish. But in the end, there was too much work to do and we fell short. We've got so much batting resources. Kedar is a late middle to the late batter for India. We could have gone a whole lot of different ways.

Today Kedar had some balls but that didn't work out. You always put players in different areas and that's just when you have so much batting talent to choose from. It's one of the things we look at, but it's all in hindsight," Fleming said at a post-match interview.

Even though the New Zealander agreed the plan backfired, he insisted that CSK must be able to finish off close games.

"If we could have got one of those players to 75-plus and continued that partnership for another maybe four or five overs, the game might have been a lot different. Kolkata hung in there long enough to put pressure on us and we just couldn't accelerate. We feel disappointed that we let it slip," added Fleming.

CSK next take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (CSK) in the ongoing IPL 2020 on Saturday (Oct. 10) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Virat Kohli-led side is currently placed fourth in the points table, having won three in five matches, while CSK are in fifth place with only two wins so far.