Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said Kedar Jadhav was sent ahead of Ravindra Jadega and DJ Bravo in a tense run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders because of his ability to play spin well.
However, Jadhav laboured to seven off 12 balls as KKR won the game by 10 runs.
“At the time, we thought that Kedar could play the spinner well and dominate, while Jadeja was there to come and finish. But in the end there was too much work to do and we fell short,” Fleming said at the press-match conference.
Jadhav was trolled heavily on social media following the defeat.
The New Zealander rued that their batsmen let it “slip” despite having so much resources. The team added just 14 runs from 11-14 overs, a period when they lost both Shane Watson and an in-form Ambati Rayudu.
“If we could have got one of those players to 75-plus and continued that partnership for another maybe four or five overs, the game might have been a lot different.
“Kolkata hung in there long enough to put pressure on us and we just couldn’t accelerate. We feel disappointed that we let it slip.”