Fleming on Chepauk defeat: 'We were victim to a match-winning catch'

IPL 2025

Fleming on Chepauk defeat: 'We were victim to a match-winning catch'

by Pratyush Sinha • Last updated on

Pat Cummins celebrates with Kamindu Mendis after the Sri Lankan's exceptional catch to dismiss Dewald Brevis. © BCCI/IPL

For Stephen Fleming, the turning point of the night was clear.

"I thought Brevis was outstanding. We were probably victim to a match-winning catch," the CSK head coach said after their fourth consecutive defeat at Chepauk.

The catch he was referring to came from Kamindu Mendis, the ambidextrous spinner who had just been hammered for three sixes in an over by Dewald Brevis. But Kamindu's flying full-length dive to his left at long-off, described by Cricbuzz as "like a football goalie", not only dismissed a rampaging and on-song Brevis but also knocked the wind out of CSK's innings.

"Look, I think it's just instinct," SRH head coach Daniel Vettori said of the catch. "It's an innate ability to be able to move, to see the ball and time you're diving. So it's probably one of those catches that even a brilliant fielder only has one or two in their career.

At 17 off 17 balls, Brevis had looked like another middle-order experiment. Some dot balls, a few singles, checked drives straight to the fielder. Chennai Super Kings needed much more on a tough pitch and then Brevis found his range.

Three sixes in a single over off Kamindu - smashed over long-on, deep midwicket and long-off - told you everything about what CSK had been missing this season. They needed someone (anyone) to take down spin in the middle overs. Shivam Dube, their designated hitter, is out of form. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who could have anchored, has been out of the tournament. And Ravindra Jadeja, for all his strengths, has never been the one to dominate spinners.

One of Brevis's sixes was so clean that his eyes didn't even bother following the ball; the bat swing told him it was enough. By the time he stood tall and slapped Harshal Patel's off-pace bouncer over cover for another outrageous six, it felt like CSK were finally pushing toward a par score. Maybe even a winning one.

But Kamindu's moment of magic flipped the script. The innings never really recovered, and the hosts had to settle for 154 all out with a ball left in their innings. Sunrisers Hyderabad, despite a few jitters, chased it down with five wickets to spare, consigning CSK to their worst-ever home run in an IPL season, equalling four losses at Chepauk.

"It was going well. That was an outstanding catch," he said. "We had Riyan Parag in a game at Guwahati who took a great catch as well. So a couple of key moments there that they earned and did well. But then it was two teams that were nervous about winning, going hammer and tongs on a tough wicket. It was tough to watch."

Vettori concurred with Fleming on the importance of the catch and admitted that the target could have been out of reach had Brevis stayed longer.

"Special moment, that catch, but more importantly for us, it was the moment in the game where Brevis was starting to take control, putting a lot of pressure back on us," Vettori said. "And if he'd stayed in, probably the score would have gotten away from us and it would have been a difficult chase.

"Even during our bowling innings, there were some times where we felt dew was becoming an issue. I think you saw Zeeshan wiping the ball. So to get through that, and particularly to break that partnership. Brevis was looking fantastic, took the game on and started to show what you could do on that surface when you put pressure back on bowlers. So the catch by Kamindu and then the bowling to follow that up, I think that led to the ability to restrict that score."

After the match, MS Dhoni acknowledged that Brevis had given CSK a strong platform with his counterattack, especially against spin with the field spread out, but rued how the rest of the batters couldn't capitalise on it and ended up a few runs short.

"I feel we could have run slightly better and put a few more runs on the board," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation. "We were short by 15-20 runs.

"He [Brevis] batted really well, and we need something like that in the middle order. Where we have slightly struggled is when the spinners come in, that's the time we need to either... pick up your areas where you're scoring or try to play the big shot once in your area. So, I feel that's where we have been lacking. We have not been able to dominate or get runs against the spinners at a good pace in the middle."

In the end, that's how T20 cricket rolls. For all the intent CSK showed, be it through fielding the second-youngest opening combination in IPL or handing Brevis the CSK cap, it took just one match-winning catch to suggest how fine the margins are, and how far they still have to go.

© Cricbuzz

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