MS Dhoni says lack of steam in the batting hurts after losing to Delhi Capitals

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a 44-run defeat at the hands of
Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League encounter on Friday.

The match, that was
played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, saw Prithvi Shaw rise to the occasion
and give his team a second victory in the T20 tournament.

For Chennai, their top
order failed to fire, leaving the middle order with a herculean task of chasing
down 176 runs.

Talking about his team’s poor batting performance, Dhoni, at
the post-match presentation said that they lacked a bit of steam in batting and
the run rate kept on mounting.

Also Read | Clinical Delhi Capitals beat Chennai Super Kings to record second IPL win

“I don’t think it was a good game for us. There was no dew,
but the wicket did slow down. We are lacking a bit of steam in the batting and
that hurts. The run rate keeps on mounting after such slow starts and adds
pressure, we need to figure that out,” Dhoni said.

“We need to come back with a clearer picture, looking at the
combination. Maybe, the team balance will get better once Rayudu comes back in
the next game. That will give us the room to experiment with an extra bowler
perhaps. There are quite a few things we can think about,” the losing captain
said.

Also Read | The Prithvi Show: Shaw impresses opponents CSK with his brisk knock

“We are one batter extra to start off, so the players need
to step up. We need to get better with our lengths, lines and pace. I think the
spinners have not come to the party yet. We are bowling good deliveries, but we
are giving away the boundary deliveries bit too often.”

“I’ll ask the players as
there have been quite a few dropped catches. The players are not used to play
under such lights, maybe the trajectory comes in the way. Now that you have
said it, this can be an excuse for those dropped catches,” Dhoni further added.