Stephen Fleming, head coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), said before the important IPL Final that the reigning champions, the Gujarat Titans (GT), will find it hard to win a second title in a row. Notably, the two teams will play each other for the last time in the final match, which will take place on May 28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Gujarat Titans could become the third team after CSK (2010, 2011) and MI (2019, 2020) to win back-to-back titles.
But CSK coach Fleming thinks it will be hard for the newly formed club to win trophies in back-to-back seasons. He also gave GT coach Ashish Nehra and the managers a lot of praise for how they have run their campaign in such a short amount of time.
“So hard! It’s impossible, and they (GT) will have a hard time doing it (laughs). No, they are a good team. What they have put together in a short amount of time is impressive. “I really like the coaching staff because they are all well-rounded,” Fleming said at a press conference before the game.
“Even though Ashish (Nehra) talks a lot, he knows a lot about the game. After working with him in Chennai, his passion is really high. We have a lot of respect for what they’ve done, but it’s hard to keep going,” he said.
In Qualifier 1, the yellow brigade beat the reigning champions by a large margin. This made them the first team to earn a spot in the final match. But Hardik Pandya and his team got back on track with a 62-run win over Mumbai Indians in the second Qualifier. Shubman Gill (129 off 60 balls) and Mohit Sharma (5/10 in 2.2 overs) gave jaw-dropping performances that left everyone in awe.
Gujarat will try to make up for their loss in the final and try to win a second title. On the other hand, CSK, which is led by MS Dhoni, will want to break a record by winning a fifth title.
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