Dhoni confident of semi-final berth

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team still had a chance of making it to the Indian Premier League (IPL) semi-finals despite a shock defeat to Bangalore Royal Challengers here on Wednesday night.

"I don't want to leave anything for our last game against the Deccan Chargers, but we would like to beat Rajasthan Royals here on Saturday and qualify for the semi-finals," he said.

Dhoni said a couple of partnerships would have helped Super Kings to pull through after Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel had provided them a solid start.

Sharing his thoughts on the dramatic collapse, the skipper admitted that poor shot selection led to loss of wickets.

"It was a gettable total. We changed the batting order according to the situation. If the players thought in the middle as much as they thought in the dressing room, we would have won," he said.

Challangers captain Rahul Dravid gave full credit to his bowlers, particularly Anil Kumble, while admitting that his batsmen did not perform.
 
"We played well in our first match against Chennai in Bangalore but could not finish and the same thing happened to the Chennai team today. Anil (Kumble) was brilliant and turned the tide in our favour," he said.
 
"Even in the last two overs, one could not say as to who will win. When we got Fleming, we had a chance but Suresh Raina is known for big hitting. It is good to have won a match after five straight losses," he said.
 
"It has not been a good season, but we have to show some responsibility. Hopefully, the same team will do well in the next season," he said.