Sloppy fielding costing CSK big in IPL 2025, Fleming highlights

Four consecutive defeats in five matches, a question naturally comes up: what's wrong with Chennai Super Kings this season? It would be easy and almost accurate to say everything in retort to that question. However, avid followers who have kept a keen eye on their game so far would be able to tell that some departments have failed greater than others. The bowling, for instance, is not as bad, with the likes of Noor Ahmad and Khaleel Ahmed outperforming their counterparts. The spinner holds the Purple Cap with 11 scalps in 5 matches. Ahmed rattled PBKS early with two strikes in the powerplay in their last fixture. However, for any bowling performance to excel, the bowlers need comprehensive support from their fielders, a prospect simply lacking in the CSK camp this season.

Chennai Super Kings have dropped the most catches in IPL 2025 so far

Before it comes to CSK chasing and subsequently failing in IPL 2025, matters edge out of their grasp in the field itself. Despite Khaleel Ahmed and Noor Ahmad providing them crucial breakthroughs, the team has leaked runs with their sloppy fielding and slippery hands. CSK, home to scintillating fielders like Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, has been reduced to a team that has dropped the most catches in IPL 2025 so far. In 5 matches, CSK fielders have let down 11 catches and have staged 17 misfields. Their efficiency is 68.5, only better than Punjab Kings, who dropped 3 catches in the same over in the PBKS vs CSK fixture.

The fact that would pain CSK fans and the players even more is that almost every opponent that has played the best against them in these fixtures has been dropped before going big in their assault. For instance, Rajat Patidar, who was dropped thrice in the CSK vs RCB match, once at even 17, went on to smash a half-century in the match. Same was the case with Nitish Rana, who scored past 70 after being dropped early, and Priyansh Arya, who charged to his maiden century after surviving three catch attempts. As the five-time champions suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, falling short by 28 runs in the PBKS vs CSK match, head coach Stephen Fleming rued the chances they lost in the field.

"The game was really lost in the field, I thought we were sloppy in the field, and we just lacked accuracy under pressure at certain times," Fleming said. "We were put under pressure by a fine innings [from Arya] but we've got to be better than that in terms of shutting it down. So that's where the game got away from us," he added.