Gilchrist credits colleagues and support staff for plotting Chennai Super Kings' defeat

According to a report in The Hindu, Adam Gilchrist credited his colleagues and the support staff for plotting Chennai Super Kings' defeat in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday. “It was a big decision to leave Shaun (Marsh) out. I got a lot of inputs from Vikram (Rathour), Joe (Dawes) and David (Hussey). It worked out well,” he said. Looking ahead, Gilchrist observed, “I haven't thought ahead. I wanted to see how I got through this game first. I have tonight and tomorrow to recover.”
The Kings XI Punjab captain praised his bowlers, “PK (Praveen Kumar) did a wonderful job in perfect conditions for him. We judged the wicket well. Bowlers put the ball in perfect spots. We often see bowlers get a wicket like that and try too hard, but all credit to them.

Meanwhile according to a report in The Times Of India, Chennai Super Kings didn’t have the flair of the last two editions, says coach Stephen Fleming, adding that they are now hoping against hope.

“Yes, obviously, we are disappointed to lose. We were outplayed today. The Punjab pacemen bowled beautifully on this pitch, kept us under pressure. It was difficult to get any momentum on a day when we needed to play at our best,” said Team Chennai coach Stephen Fleming after his team lost to Punjab here on Thursday and had their fingers crossed after finishing fourth on the table with 17 points.

“We have to sit back and a number of results have to go our way. While we are always hopeful, we have to be realistic that we have got ourselves into a position where we are reliant on a lot of things,” he said reflecting on his team’s faint playoff chances.

Meanwhile, blaming the batsmen for surrendering meekly to Kolkata Knight Riders' varied bowling attack in their IPL match, Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh said that terming the team's batting as "extremely poor" is an understatement on this Wankhede wicket, says a Hindustan Times report.

Chasing a modest 141, the Mumbai outfit lost wickets at regular intervals to be shot out for 108 in 19.1 overs to go down to the Knight Riders by 32 runs on Wednesday, their second lowest total of the season after the paltry 92 made against Delhi Daredevils at this venue.

"The batting has been extremely poor. That's an understatement on a wicket like this. I think we should have scored the runs. We did not show any intent at the end of first six overs," said Robin Singh after his team's fifth defeat in eight home games at the Wankhede Stadium here.

"Obviously then a total of 140 almost becomes like a 16-over game that you are playing," added the former India player.