'Massive respect for what Nehra has done but...': Fleming's colossal 'back to back titles' remark ahead of CSK vs GT
The Chennai Super Kings will take on Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League final in Ahmedabad.
The Chennai Super Kings will meet Gujarat Titans in the title clash of the 2023 Indian Premier League on Sunday night. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side will be chasing a fifth IPL title, that would level them with Mumbai Indians, currently the most successful team in the tournament's history. Incidentally, both, CSK and MI, are the only sides to have won the IPL title on successive occasions; while CSK have won the title in 2010 and 2011, MI achieved the feat in the 2019 and 2020 editions.
The Titans will be aiming to become the third team to achieve the milestone but CSK's head coach Stephen Fleming believes that it would be “very, very hard” for the Hardik Pandya-led side to do so.
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“So hard! It is impossible, it is going to be so hard for them (GT) to do it (laughs). No, they are a good side; you got to say ‘really well done’ to what they have put together in a short space of time,” Fleming said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“I like the coaching staff a lot, they are really balanced guys. Ashish, for all his talking, has got a really good grasp of the game, his enthusiasm is really high after working with him in Chennai. We have a huge amount of respect for what they have done but it is very hard to go back to back.”
Interestingly, Gujarat Titans’ team director Vikram Solanki also returned the favour, but added that knowledge of conditions in their ‘home ground’ here should hold them in good stead.
“We are definitely better for the experience for having played here, having played in the final (last year) here, and having been successful in those big games. We are better for it,” he said.
“We entirely appreciate this sort of respect CSK have given. They have been a fabulous team for a good number of years now and we respect that. We are confident; what transpires on the day is what transpires on the day,” Solanki added.