Fleming confident ahead of RCB match

“It was disappointing to lose the last game the other night, but you have to give credit where it is due,” the Chennai Super Kings coach said of Paul Valthaty’s astonishing onslaught. “It was the kind of wicket where 175-180 was a par score. We asked Kings XI to play well and they did so. Tomorrow, we will ask RCB to play well, and if they do so and beat us, well done to them.

“We have got to keep our standards high and be accurate as we can be under pressure. We have a very good bowling attack, as we saw in the first match here when we defended 150.”

The Super Kings have been bolstered by the return of the Australian pair of Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger. “Hussey has a pretty good chance of playing,” Fleming noted. “He and Bollinger are great additions to our squad, it’s good to have them back. It’s nice to have options, now we have the headache of selecting the right team.

“We generally choose all-rounders because Albie (Morkel) is our star player. Usually, we go in with three overseas bowling options because the quality of our Indian batting gives us the option of doing that.”

The advantage of having a large pool of players that were a part of the same squad in the first three editions of the IPL was gradually diminishing, Fleming remarked. “I said from the start that we have a small advantage because we have players from the previous editions but that advantage is slowly running out,” he insisted.

“I know Daniel Vettori will be working very hard to get some team spirit at RCB and to get the team going. After two or three games, all teams will be more or less on an even keel, they will come to know each other and play as a team. Tomorrow, we still have an edge because are playing at home but we still have to be on top of our game. We have got to be sharp and very accurate in what we do.”