Veteran Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has opened up about Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming’s comments about the lack of home advantage at Chepauk. Pujara stated that the Super Kings can’t complain as they have been preparing the pitches according to their strengths.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team suffered their first home loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) since 2008. They lost the match by a margin of 50 runs at Chepauk on Friday, March 28. At the post-match press conference, Stephen Fleming admitted that the pitches at Chepauk have changed over the years.
Chennai Super Kings Can’t Complain – Cheteshwar Pujara on Home Advantage
During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Cheteshwar Pujara stated that CSK have been preparing pitches to suit their strengths. He added that while the team might have certain expectations from the pitch, recent changes might have made it behave differently.
“At CSK, you can’t complain. That’s one franchise where they have been preparing the pitches according to their strength. And if he’s saying that they are not getting the pitches or if they don’t have a say, then I’m quite surprised because I don’t think that’s the case,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on ESPNCricinfo.
“But what might be happening is, they might be expecting something out of the pitch. But because there have been some changes in the pitch, it’s not behaving the way they want it to behave,” he added.
No home advantage? ‘Quite surprising’
Pujara deliberates on the Chepauk pitch so far this season 🗣️ #TimeOut #CSKvRCB pic.twitter.com/XLu737px9W
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 29, 2025
Spinners Were Getting Enough Grip in the Second Innings – Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara questioned whether the match outcome would have changed if CSK had bowled in the second innings. He pointed out that spinners found more assistance from the surface later in the game compared to the first innings.
“But my question here is, if CSK was in a position where RCB was bowling, would the result have been different? Because it looked like in the second innings, spinners were getting enough grip. Whereas in the first innings, it looked like the ball was skidding on a bit more, and that’s why they couldn’t bowl their spinners,” Pujara added.
Chennai Super Kings Spinners Failed to Take Wickets
Royal Challengers Bengaluru got off to a good start after being invited to bat first. Phil Salt scored 32 off 16 balls, while Virat Kohli took his time to settle. Devdutt Padikkal contributed with a quick 27 off 14 deliveries. Kohli failed to accelerate and managed only 31 runs off 30 balls.
Rajat Patidar capitalized on his reprieves to score 51 off 32. Tim David provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 22 off just eight balls, helping RCB set a formidable total of 196. Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers for CSK, taking three wickets.
Chennai Super Kings collapsed to 52/4 in their chase. Rachin Ravindra scored 41 off 31 but struggled to find boundaries in the middle overs. Shivam Dube (19 off 15) and Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 19) couldn’t make significant contributions, while MS Dhoni, batting at No. 9, smashed an unbeaten 30 off 16 balls.
Also read: Watch: Virat Kohli threatens Khaleel Ahmed after CSK vs RCB on Live TV
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