"Really Proud Of What He Did": Stephen Fleming Lauds Kartik Sharma's Unbeaten Knock

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) thrashed Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets at Chepauk on Saturday to stay alive in the race for playoffs on the back of half-centuries from captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and youngster Kartik Sharma. The 20-year-old Kartik was sent to bat ahead of Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis when his side was chasing a modest target of 160 runs in Chennai, and he played an unbeaten knock of 54 runs in 40 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes.

CSK head coach Stephen Fleming praised the young batter's knock and said that he will be just better and better after this memorable knock against archrivals MI.

Speaking during the post-match press conference, Feming said, "You have the young players, so there are two parts to it. One is how you introduce them. It is a big stage, no matter what they've been doing at the domestic level. So understanding their mentality is really important, and it is a big step up. They can have all the talent in the world, but the temperament is what we're looking for. And his introduction was tough at the start, and then he had a little bit of time out where he worked hard, and today was a good reward for that."

"He's a fine player, and he was expensive in the auction because others see that as well. And tonight it was good to see the temperament as well as the skill on show, and he will just get better and better. So it's a nice spot for him, and the timing was right. So we're really pleased and proud of what he did today," he added.

MI batted first in the match but failed to do the fireworks as strong bowling performances from CSK restricted them to 159/7. Anshul Kamboj took three wickets, whereas Noor Ahmad grabbed a couple of wickets. Kamboj became the joint-leading wicket-taker in the competition with 17 wickets after this match.

Speaking about Kamboj's bowling, Fleming said, "It's not a surprise for us. At the end of last year, he was really good. He's worked hard with Eric Simons (CSK bowling coach) around the concept of death bowling, and he has worked during the year to master that. And I think you've seen some fine performances, both in the reason why and what he's doing, and then the ability to execute under pressure. And they're two really key components at the death, and all we really needed was evidence. And again, a lot of the work we've done pre-season and out has been with open wickets and understanding angles and what he can and can't do from certain sides of the wicket, and it's very impressive."

Ramakrishna Ghosh made his IPL debut in the match and bowled three overs, conceding 24 runs, and also took a crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. He is a batting all-rounder, and Fleming looked very impressed with his performance in the match.

"His improvement in the recent weeks has been noticeable. He has been training really well in our workout at the academy. We have two grounds that we use. It's been very impressive. So disappointing that he was injured towards the end, but the other point was -- he does bat and bat well, and that's an area of big improvement. So he can genuinely be called an all-rounder," Fleming concluded.

This victory has taken CSK to sixth place on the points table with eight points in eight matches. CSK will clash with Delhi Capitals on Tuesday at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians Ruturaj Gaikwad Kartik Sharma IPL 2026 Cricket