'Bisla's knock was unexpected'

Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings’ coach, termed the no-ball by Ben Hilfenhaus in the 19th over as the turning point of IPL-5 final.

The Kolkata Knight Riders needed 16 off the last seven balls but Hilfenhaus’ final delivery off the penultimate over was called a no-ball for being high above waist. Not only that ball cost three runs, but Shakib Al Hasan scooped the extra ball for four reducing the equation to a gettable nine off final over which Manoj Tiwary achieved without much fuss. “In the 19th over, there was a big turning point with the no-ball. Going into the last over with 14 or 15 to win is a different story," Fleming pointed out.

Fleming also said Manvinder Bisla’s assault was unexpected. "I don't know if we can over-analyse how wrong we got it, but admire what they did,” noted the Kiwi. “Bisla, I thought, was outstanding. They needed someone to stand up. We got a great early wicket of (Gautam) Gambhir, which we had targeted, but we didn't expect the onslaught from Bisla, maybe a quick 30, 40 would have been fine, but he took it quite deep. He stood up well with (Jacques) Kallis who has the experience. That partnership gave them the belief," he reasoned.

The former Kiwi skipper said it was hard to say why MS Dhoni didn’t use either Ravindra Jadeja or Suresh Raina when other bowlers weren’t doing much.

“It is very hard to analyse where you could have used the bowlers in different situations. We have got bowlers to deliver under pressure and they are experienced players and they have performed for us throughout the tournament.  Well, Dhoni can answer that. I do not know whether it is right or wrong.  Jakati has been bowling well in the last couple of games. They need to deliver in key games and that is one of the specific targets that we have in the team. But in a high-scoring game, there are always going to be such situations and we don’t overanalyse them.”

Given how Chennai were placed at the end of their league phase, Fleming said they were happy to have got the chance to play in the final but a little disappointed with their campaign being dubbed as lucky. “We are happy that we got a chance to play in the final but having gotten so far, we would loved go all the way. But then, when you get beaten like that, it's a lot easier to take than when you've played below par. A little disappointed that our campaign has been termed as 'lucky', we still got the points to qualify for the semis. The challenge next year is to be one of the most consistent sides."