They’ve played an excellent final.KKR are worthy successors: Fleming

Chasing a hat-trick of IPL titles, the Chennai Super Kings faltered at the final hurdle of their unprecedented journey. A champion team, no doubt, but the Super Kings have had their problems this season. Despite all their ups and downs, CSK remain a battle-ready side willing to fight till the very end. Their peerless fighting spirit might have been dented by KKR in the final, but CSK coach Stephen Fleming feels that Gautam Gambhir’s side are worthy successors of the IPL crown. The Kiwi tactician admitted to have been taken by surprise by Manvinder Bisla’s onslaught, and he doffed his hat to KKR’s undying spirit.

Excerpts from a chat with CSK coach Stephen Fleming after his team’s five-wicket loss against KKR in the final of IPL 2012:

You gave it your best today, but couldn’t quite get past the line?

No, [it’s] disappointing. We played pretty well. I thought the batting was excellent. The bowling, under pressure, we weren’t as good as we could have been, and the fielding – five or six runs here or there we could have saved, might have been the difference. But a great final. Kolkata were excellent throughout the year. We stopped and started. But we came into the final and played well. After posting 190, we are very disappointed.

After posting 190, do you think the bowlers could have done better?

It’s a mixture of both. They played very well; [Manvinder] Bisla played well. We started very well with the ball, but his innings got a lot of momentum for their side and we weren’t able to pull it back. [Jacques] Kallis played the second fiddle very well and we were never able to shake them. But even with seven balls to go, we had a chance; there was a turning point there. That’s just the nature of T20 – we’ve been on the right side of it at times, [but] tonight we were on the wrong side.