'Jadeja is our gun player, he delivered today,' says CSK coach Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming doesnt believe in fairy tales in sport but Ravindra Jadejas nearimprobable heist that took Chennai Super Kings to its fifth IPL trophy might come closest to itWith 13 needed to win in the final over against Gujarat Titans CSK managed only three runs off the first four balls before Jadeja smashed Mohit Sharma for a six and a four off the last two deliveries to literally snatch the Cup from Gujarats graspThey say there are no fairy tales in the sport but it was a pretty good one today It has been a bit difficult 18 months where as the captaincy was difficult the injury was difficult it took a bit of time from out of the game for him to come back into and be reintegrated into the Test side and then reintegrate into CSK Fleming told the media after Chennai defeated Gujarat Titans in the IPL final hereAlso Read CSK vs GT highlights Sir Jadeja wins it for CSK Chennai clinch fifth trophyIn fact Fleming had in his mind conceded defeat before final two deliveries were bowled by Mohit and the Jadeja turned it allWe have lost finals on the last ball which is an absolute heartache I was gearing up myself for another heartache when Jaddu hit one for six and there could have been more heartache or more joy I was not sureBut when I saw the ball go down finally there was pure joy This competition takes you to emotional levels that you cannot imagine the Kiwi addedFleming was all praise for Jadejas firepowerHe plays a great role with the ball but we have got so much fire power that some ways we use him down the order but something has to give MS Dhoni has been very supportive and proactive in getting him up there and today he repaid that faith Fleming addedThe former New Zealand skipper explained Jadejas shot selectionThe six I think in particular of the ball which was pretty close to being perfect was defining and then lefthanded drive to the fine leg It was a great way to finish it I couldnt be more happy for him There has been some frustration at times but he is our gun player he is a No 1 ranked player and today he delivered Fleming addedThe CSK coach said his side was poor in the field in the first half but kept getting better and confident as the rainaffected match panned out215 I thought it was an excellent score but the rain came and we had to change the momentum We felt with the moisture around on the pitch it was gettable It was going to take a lot of battingThe start was really important because we were still shellshocked from the fielding The first four or six overs started to give us the belief and once we got a little bit of taste for it it is that type of ground where it is very hard to defend so we knew we had a chance It was going to be high octane all the way through Fleming addedFleming praised Gujarat Titans bowlers Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma for taking the contest into the final ball of the matchThe last couple of overs were very tight Shami and Sharma bowled well Mohit Sharma in particular has been very good he saidCricket has always been a game of fine margins believes Fleming who has been CSK coach for a decade and half nowI think I said it a couple of days ago that this tournament is being defined by fine margins I think the last couple of balls summed that up if you just missed a yorker or go down the leg sideWe have talked about that all the way through that if you can just get on the right side of those moments then we can stay in and it was one of those days Fleming saidPraise for RahaneFleming heaped praise on senior India batter Ajinkya Rahane who turned out to be one of the success stories for the CSK side with an incredibly successful season with the batWhat changed was Rahanes philosophy of not trying to be an anchor batterMy understanding is that we got rid of the tag of being the guy you bat around or bat through I think that maybe hung over his head a little bit too much and didnt allow him to be the player that he can beAnd once that tag was gone when I turned up halfway through the preseason training I saw a guy who was in magnificent form Fleming saidFleming said that Rahane didnt feature in their initial planHe wasnt in our initial thoughts but the game in Mumbai was really defining It was one of our best wins in the tournament and he was the big catalyst behind it so he cemented that No 3 spotHe has been unwavering the whole way through hes been nothing but positive his nets have been positive Anytime hes been caught on the boundary or out playing a big shot weve just reinforced how good hes playing So a little bit of belief and just sheer ability hes been a wonderful player for us this year he saidRayudu would leave a big hole says coachThe former New Zealand captain said Ambati Rayudu who announced his retirement after this IPL final will leave a big hole in their sideAmbati Rayudu has been an absolute legend I rate him so highly as a batter and those three balls against Mohit Sharma today proved against one of the most inform bowlershellip to hit him for 6 4 and 6 was sheer classRayudu will leave a hole there is no doubt about it but the game keeps moving Doesnt it We expected that for him to go out like that was pretty emotional within the group and for him as well Fleming saidAlso Read GT vs CSK Sensational Sudharsan records alltime great IPL final knocksThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever