Chennai Super Kings' head coach Stephen Fleming, left, with MS Dhoni during a training session. | Photo Credit: PTI

M. S. Dhoni’s recovery from a calf strain has been delayed as the niggle seems to have worsened during a warm-up fixture, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming revealed after the host sunk to an eight-wicket loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

“He’s pretty keen (on returning to action). The calf is a tough one though. If he takes off and rips the calf again, he will be gone. We had pushed it early. In a warm-up game, he tweaked it again; it’s my understanding. And since then, he has just been working hard to get some movement. But there was a setback. So, it has taken longer than we thought. He’s the guide on this one. And he’s working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab. We’re just waiting for the word, really,” Fleming said during the press conference.

Although CSK lost, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad finally got a fifty on the board, albeit it was the slowest by any batter over the last three years. Fleming, however, feels his 60-ball 74 needs to be seen in a different light. “He couldn’t use the pace of the ball until about the full length of overs. It was a real struggle. Jason Holder was getting steep bounce. (Kagiso) Rabada was getting steep bounce. It was inconsistent. And he struggled. He had to grind that out. So, it was a testament really to his grip just to get a score on the board.”

Even Holder heaped praise on Gaikwad’s knock. “That was a really good innings by him. He absorbed pressure but got caught up in the back end. Everyone can’t play like that obviously, but it’s a wicket where if you go out front trying to go too hard, you can get yourself in some trouble,” the Barbadian fast-bowling all-rounder opined.

ALSO READ | Bowlers floor Chennai Super Kings to help Gujarat Titans get back on track

Rabada was named the Player of the Match for his three wickets, including the scalp of the in-form Sanju Samson. Fleming felt the pitch aided the South African pacer to a great extent.

“The pitch played a big part. There was some inconsistent bounce. But Rabada is an outstanding bowler. So he was always going to get some bounce. And he hit a good length today and just put us under pressure. It was difficult. You can go two ways. You can attack it. (Urvil) Patel is always going to attack it. Sarfaraz (Khan) is reasonably aggressive, which is the trend these days. And when that doesn’t work, you’ve just got to soak up a bit of pressure. We just couldn’t get it going in time to get a score that was going to be competitive,” the Kiwi said.

Fleming echoed Shivam Dube’s thoughts, who felt 158 was “the best score here” during the mid-innings break. “We actually thought 160 was competitive. But we just couldn’t extract the same amount. Obviously, it dried out. There was a change. It was going to get slower. We just couldn’t extract the same type of assistance as they did in the first 10 overs... I don’t want to sound like I’m making too big an excuse, but I just think the first 10 overs today were tough in terms of conditions. That’s what we felt. We were all looking at it through a different lens.”

Holder also presented his views on the pitch, which may have explained why the Titans’ captain, Shubman Gill, chose to bowl in the baking afternoon conditions of Chepauk. “When we started, we felt there was a lot in the wicket. There was a lot of moisture; the ball had some steep bumps as well up front, which really helped our bowlers. Having said that, CSK probably got stuck between a rock and a hard place while trying to obviously get some runs on the board, score at a decent clip, but also not give the wickets away. My top bowlers were outstanding, both Rabada and (Mohammed) Siraj. It created a lot of problems for the CSK top order. It’s always a tricky one when you’re trying to get some runs on the board and maximise the PowerPlay.”

Published on Apr 26, 2026