http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Faf-du-Plessis-c1427 admits CSK’s middle overs batting woes need to be addressed – Cricket News Update
The explosive opening batsman of Chennai Super Kings, Faf du Plessis, on Saturday admitted that his side’s middle overs batting was a cause for concern in the ongoing season five of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In last night’s match against Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 at home, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Supper Kings suffered a batting collapse while chasing a mediocre 156, as the hosts lost the match by seven runs. Du Plessis said the side would
have to address the middle overs batting woes if they are to defend the title for a third successive term.
"I think we lost a little bit in the middle there. The wicket being a little slower today, leaving it for the last over was going to be tough. We needed to hit over the run-rate at that time," said the South African all-rounder.
Chasing a mediocre total of 156 for 8, CSK got off to a quick start, putting 60 runs on the board inside the six powerplay overs. However, they slowed down in the middle overs as the side scored just 41 runs in the next eight
overs at the cost of five wickets.
Du Plessis, who has so far amassed 331 runs from nine games, reckons the middle-order batsmen failed to maintain the pace of scoring runs.
"My opinion is that in the middle, we should have gone a little bit harder,” said the 27-year-old top order batsman after the match.
“We gave a good start by scoring around nine runs an over, which is decent. The first six overs were good, but in the seventh to 13th overs, we could have pushed just a bit harder. We need to look at that," he added further.
The South African also said that the Chepauk wicket was a bit slower than normal and stroke-making was never easy.
With a tally of 331 runs under his belt, du Plessis finds himself at number three on the IPL5 runs chart, behind http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajinkya-Rahane-c970 (332).
With four wins and a drawn match in nine outings so far, the defending champions find themselves at number three on the standings. The defending champions will next play Kolkata Knight Riders at home in their return-leg Indian
Premier League fixture.
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