Abu Dhabi: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the batsmen let the team down after a spirited comeback by the bowlers in their Indian Premier League (IPL) game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) here on Wednesday.
Chasing a target of 168, veteran opener Shane Watson struck his second successive fifty to give CSK a perfect start, but the team choked at the back end of the innings and was restricted to 157/5 to suffer its fourth defeat in five matches.
"In the middle overs, there was a phase when they bowled two-three good overs. Then we lost two-three wickets in a row. If our batting was different during that period, the result would have been different," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Earlier, 'Birthday Boy' Dwayne Bravo bowled a perfect final over to finish with figures of 3/37, while the trio of Sam Curran, Shradul Thakur and Karn Sharma claimed two each as CSK bowled KKR out for 167.
"Initially we gave away a few too many with the new ball. Karn (Sharma) did really well. The bowlers did well to bring them down to 160-odd. As a team we should have achieved the target but the batsmen let the bowlers down."
Dhoni promoted himself to No. 4 but was cleaned up by spinner Varun Chakravarthy, while Curran became Andre Russell's victim after a brisk 11-ball 17.
"Rotation of strike is always important. At times we have to judge the deliveries. There were hardly any boundaries in the last three overs.
"You have to be slightly innovative in these scenarios. If someone is bowling just back of a length, you have to find a way to hit boundaries. We did not adapt well," Dhoni said.
Having returned to winning ways, KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik was all praise for his team, especially the duo of Sunil Narine (1/31 from four overs) and Andre Russell (1/18 from two overs) for their tidy bowling at the death.
"There are some key players for every team. Narine is one for us. Least we can do is back him. Two-three poor games don't matter," Karthik said.
Asked about their changed batting order, Karthik said: "Our batting is very fluid. I started at three, today I batted at seven. The way those guys batted at the start, they batted very well.”
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