Fleming defends move to send Kedar Jadhav ahead of Dhoni

DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming lost his cool and lashed out at those questioning the thought process behind sending Kedar Jadhav ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, on Friday. "It is a question?" a fuming Fleming asked at the post-match press conference.

"He (Jadhav) is our number four. Dhoni, primarily, is a middle to backend player, Kedar Jadhav is our number four, he plays a dual role, if we get off to a good start he might move down and let Dhoni up.

"If you lose early wickets then your number four batsman goes in."

Jadhav struggled as he scored just three from 10 balls before he was caught in the covers off young leg-spinner Abdul Samad.

Dhoni also failed to produce the big hits in the end overs, as he finished unbeaten on 47 from 36 balls. It was Jadeja, who gave CSK some hopes, with his quickfire 50 from 35 balls.

On the partnership between skipper Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, which brought CSK back into the game, Fleming said the team needs to be more productive in the middle overs.

"We were in trouble through the middle (overs) and MS (Dhoni) and Jaddu (Jadeja) had to take time. They got us pretty close but they probably would want to be a little bit more productive in the middle.

"Obviously, when you have to deal with Rashid Khan's overs, it is a great challenge as well. Jaddu's momentum towards the end was encouraging," he added. Agencies

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