Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday (April 14) at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow in the 30th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. After losing five matches on a trot, MS Dhoni’s team will want to bounce back and get those two crucial points in their pocket. Ahead of the game, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming reflected on the team’s performance this season.
CSK’s Performance in IPL 2025
Chennai Super Kings’ performance this season has been underwhelming. They have lost five of the six games played and are currently at the bottom of the table. They are the only team to win just one match in this season, so far. Their Net Run Rate (NRR) is -1.554. The team’s batting unit has struggled a lot. CSK have hit only 32 sixes which is the lowest tally among the 10 teams.
Stephen Fleming on CSK’s previous loss
“It’s a big challenge, there’s no doubt about it. So we’ve got to look at it in small steps and just continue to work to get better at all three facets really, and then you start competing. I think the disappointing aspect in particular the last game was the lack of competition we put up and that hurt a lot.” Stephen Fleming reflected.
“There’s certainly been a lot of internal soul searching, but also a lot of work around what we need to do,” he added on the prospects of coming back into the game by winning next matches.
CSK batters having trouble with six-hitting
“We do struggle with six hitting, but it’s not everything. I know there’s a fascination with power and six hitting, but there’s also a couple of teams doing well with good batting craft.
“And I’d be very sad if the day came to us just being like a baseball competition and talking about sixes and fours. The beauty of the game is there’s still balance between bat and ball, and in some cases there’s not. So I’m loath to get into it too much. I love the skill and the ability to do that,” Fleming said.
Need for a balance between bat and ball
“It’s phenomenal from an athlete point of view, but from the good of the game, balance is still really important. Our game in Chennai, the last game, was tricky. KKR hit two or three when they were batting second innings, but for our boys, whether it’s a lack of confidence or intent, it’s not that easy. So it’s not just that you can turn up and just hit sixes. Some players are playing absolutely fearlessly, and whether that’s inconsistent or consistent, the tournament will tell, but conditions play a big part. But there’s still room for craft, and you’re still seeing top-class players playing pivotal innings when it’s not flat like a road. And I just hope the balance can remain, because while it’s great to watch and the skill set we admire, the game is still about a balance between that,” he said.
Fleming on MS Dhoni’s return to captaincy
“Dhoni’s influence will always be prominent, but he’s not a soothsayer, he hasn’t got a magic wand, he can’t just rub it over the side, otherwise he would have brought it out earlier. It’s a case of us working very hard along with MS to turn it around,” Stephen Fleming said.
“And certainly in both of our careers we’ve been in situations that require a lot of energy, and we’ve got to make sure that the energy is put in the right place. Often you can get consumed with things that actually don’t matter. So drawing it all down and just making sure we’re concentrating on the right things has probably been the key for the last couple of days,” he added.
LSG vs CSK Head-to-head details
Matches played: 5
Full Squads
Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Shamar Joseph, Mitchell Marsh, Manimaran Siddharth, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Yadav, Arshin Kulkarni
Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Hooda, Matheesha Pathirana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shaik Rasheed, Jamie Overton, Shreyas Gopal, Sam Curran, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi
