Cricket/Indian Premier League (IPL 2020)/News
Sam Curran Might Be Regular In IPL 2020: Stephen Fleming
by Nirmalya Banerjee
Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings' head coach has said that promising England all-rounder Sam Curran might be a regular in the outfit for the upcoming games even as West Indian Dwayne Bravo looks set for a possible comeback. The English all-rounder was fielded ahead of Dwayne Bravo as the Windies cricketer is currently injured in the inaugural game against Mumbai Indians.
Chennai Super Kings who are without veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh and their leading run-scorer Suresh Raina still managed to win against defending champions Mumbai Indians mainly due to valuable contributions from batsmen Ambati Rayudu and Faf Du Plessis both of whom notched up first-ever fifties in IPL 2020.
Stephen Fleming. Photo Credit: BCCI/IPL.
Stephen Fleming: Sam Curran Extremely Positive In Attitude And Dwayne Bravo And He Can Be Played Together
Sam Curran made the most of the opportunity picking up the crucial wicket of Quinton de Kock and also scored a valuable 18 off just six balls. Stephen Fleming says Dwayne Bravo may miss the first couple matches and also commented on the performance and positivity of Sam Curran who took full advantage and possibility of both of them playing together cannot be ruled out.
"We haven't looked that far ahead, Bravo arrived here injured, so he is probably out the first couple of games. But Sam Curran's performance is extremely positive and that is why we bought him in the auction," Fleming said in the post-match press conference.
Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni. Image Credit: BCCI/IPL.
"His attitude is infectious and his performance today was outstanding. If Dwayne was fit, there would have been a toss up whether he played at all, so Curran has taken his opportunity but we may also have a look at playing both Curran and Bravo across different conditions in the UAE. We have to use our full squad if we want to be competitive," Fleming concluded.
Stephen Fleming played 10 matches and scored 196 runs and was appointed as Coach of the Chennai Super Kings in 2009 and retired as a player from the team. He has had a very successful stint with the team winning the IPL 2010, CLT20 2010 and IPL 2011. Stephen Fleming coached the CSK team for 7 consecutive years till the side was banned from the competition in 2015.
Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets in the IPL opener. A 115-run stand for the third wicket between Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis saw Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 opener at the Shiekh Abu Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Sam Curran Scored A Valuable Brisk Cameo Of 18 Runs At Critical Juncture
Chasing 163 to win, CSK got off to a poor start as they lost both openers Shane Watson (4) and Murali Vijay (1) in the first two overs itself, Trent Boult accounting for the former while James Pattinson got rid of the latter. However, Ambati Rayudu and Faf Du Plessis' stand ensured CSK could finish the chase with minimal fuss even though a lower-order collapse could have spelt disaster for CSK.
Ambati Rayudu. Photo Credit: Getty Images.
Ravindra Jadeja (10) was dismissed by Krunal Pandya in the 18th over but a cameo from Sam Curran (18 off 6 balls) that featured four and two sixes steadied the ship. In the end, Faf Du Plessis finished the chase in the first two balls of the final over by smacking Boult for consecutive boundaries, giving CSK their first win over MI in five matches. CSK had lost all the four matches including final in 2019.
Nirmalya Banerjee
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