Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming shared that all-rounder Ben Stokes is getting better from his knee injury. However, he added that the England cricketer needs time to get back his bowling rhythm. The Chennai Super Kings played the season-opener against the Gujarat Titans on Friday, March 31 in the 2023 Indian Premier League.
In the match, Ben Stokes managed just seven runs off six deliveries and did not bowl in the match. The Chennai Super Kings bowling attack looked pale and lost the match by five wickets. Post their loss, coach Stephen Fleming was asked about Ben Stokes’ fitness after his knee injury. The former cricketer said,
“He’s progressing well. He had a fair time off between the last Test match and getting here. And he had some medical work done on the knee. We want to do the right thing by making sure that he’s 100 percent ready to go. He’s not there yet, and that includes bowling form. We are working closely with him, but he’s making really good progress.”
“Really happy with what he’s done so far. I think he feels pretty positive about the progress he’s made. That’s another addition to the side – when he starts bowling. We’ve got some good players to come in, and we’ve introduced some players today. So not all bad,” he added.
We were a little bit short: Stephen Fleming on the loss against Gujarat Titans
Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad put up a magnificent batting show at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against the Gujarat Titans He slammed 92 runs off just 50 deliveries, with four boundaries and nine sixes. The Chennai Super Kings reached 178 runs in the first. The hosts chased it down with five wickets to spare.
Stephen Fleming expressed that the Chennai Super Kings were a few runs short in the first innings. He added that the batters couldn’t capitalize on the foundation laid by Ruturaj Gaikwad. Fleming said,
“We thought we were a little bit short. Ruturaj played a great hand, but around him, we just didn’t capitalize on the couple of positions we got into. They bowled well from 12 to 16 overs, and we couldn’t get that final push that we needed. 180 is a good score, but we were in a position where we could have got 190-200. We were probably a little big match underdone.”
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