Captain MS Dhoni rued a lack of positive impact from the batting order, after the Chennai Super Kings slipped to a 44-run defeat to the Delhi Capitals in Friday's Indian Premier League fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay failed, as Chennai's pursuit of a 176-run target endured a difficult start. They were eventually limited to an insufficient 131 for seven.
“I feel when it comes to the batting department, we are lacking a bit of steam. There is no momentum right from the start, which hurts. If you are already chasing 160-plus, the run-rate keeps mounting and it puts added pressure on the middle-order batsmen,” said Dhoni.
“So we need to figure that out. We are one batter heavy to start off with but at the same time, if you are looking to get one more seamer or spinner into the side then the batsmen need to take that added pressure.”
Rayudu and Bravo Absent
The Super Kings played without the injured Ambati Rayudu, who struck 71 in last week's victory over the Mumbai Indians. They were also without West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
“I feel Rayudu will come back in the next game so that gives us some cushion, or liberty of trying something different,” added Dhoni.
“I feel the coming seven days are the best break we could have. We'll give the guys a bit more match simulation and come back with a clearer picture as to what is the best combination, looking at how everyone is contributing.”
Dhoni on the Bowlers
Dhoni implored the bowlers to offer greater consistency. The composition of Chennai's bowling attack for the fixture against the Capitals included Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood and England left-armer Sam Curran.
“Overall, if we get more and more consistent with our length, line and pace it will be good when it comes to team selection. It's not like we have been very consistent with fast bowling,” he concluded.
“We are bowling good deliveries, but in between, we are giving a boundary opportunity. Maybe on fields like this – you know, bigger fields – it's best to be consistent with one line and let the batsmen play the big shot rather than trying too many things and giving them an opportunity to score a boundary.”
Chennai have won three IPL titles. Mumbai have four and the Kolkata Knight Riders two.