After arriving in their home city post winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming said relocating to a different venue was a tough decision for his side.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK side, which hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the summit clash of the cash-rich league on May 27, had to shift base to Pune as protests erupted against the yellow brigade following the Cauvery water dispute here.
"Most of the plans were to build a team according to Chennai's conditions but those things weren't in our control," Fleming said at a press conference on Monday.
"Moving out of Chennai was a difficult decision. We knew the conditions of Pune. We had to change the way we had to play the game," the former New Zealand skipper added.
Significantly, just a single match was possible in Chennai before BCCI shifted the remaining home games of the three-time IPL champions citing security concerns.
"We knew the conditions in Chennai. The experience enabled us to do that. It was a big change but we had to get on with it," Fleming explained.
Chennai rode on all-rounder Shane Watson's scintillating 117-run unbeaten knock to hunt down the 179-run target against a team which boasted of the best bowling attack in the league.
Praising Watson, Fleming said: "We loved what Watson had done in the past and our discussion was of his future. We wanted him in a different way."
"Opening the batting and bowling a few overs. He's incredibly professional. He looked after himself and managed well," the coach added.
