RPS coach Fleming defends his team's cautious approach

Rising Pune Supergiant coach Stephen Fleming defended the cautious approach his batsmen adopted during their chase in the IPL-10 final as they paid the price for lack of urgency.

Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Steve Smith consumed 59 balls for their 55-run stand that eventually left them with too much to do in the end on a surface that progressively got slower.

“Not regretting (the slow start),” said Fleming after his team lost the final by one run. “If you lose 20/3 (at the start) the game is on. We just could not capitalise on one or two overs where we were close to putting the game away. We lost wickets or they bowled a good over. It was not a wicket where one could blast your way through. Batting deep was the best opportunity and we could not get over the line.

“The wicket was two paced. Both teams struggled to play aggressively on it. The number of boundaries was limited. The mishits that came along suggested inconsistent bounce and reverse swing. The bowling attacks from both sides were outstanding. We have some good bowlers who have performed well in these conditions throughout. They have some good pace bowlers who bowled well in the (last) 4-5 overs,” he explained.

While lamenting the loss, Fleming termed the final as a grand finish. “Any game you lose by one run is very close,” he noted. “It was a game of inches and metres. Steve Smith came very close to winning it in the last over. It was an even fight on a tough wicket. We knew that it was going to be a tough total. We knew MI have top class bowlers. We fell behind a couple of times. We lost wickets at key times. We could not kill the game. They just hung in and created pressure to get over the line. It was a grand finish to a good competition.”

The former Kiwi skipper wished Ben Stokes, who was adjudged the most valuable player of IPL-10, was available but said his team was always aware the English all-rounder wouldn’t be available for play-offs.

“There are some ifs and buts,” he said when asked if Pune missed Stokes. “We would have loved having Ben Stokes the full time but we knew he would not be there full time. We did not spend too much time lamenting that. From his point of view, he would have loved this situation. He is a big game player and playing in the final, whatever competition it is, is special,” he explained.