Although disappointed to finish second best in the inaugural Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni refused to blame the defeat on anyone but rue not having enough bowling options.
"I don't want to pinpoint any particular player. I agree that we made a few mistakes in the field but the main problem was that we had just five bowlers and even if any one of them had a bad day, we had to persist with him," a dejected Dhoni said in the post-match press conference.
In fact, lack of option forced Dhoni to toss the ball to L Balaji in the last over, even though the pacer had already been taken to the cleaners by the Rajasthan batsmen.
Only eight runs were needed from that over and though Balaji tried his best, Rajasthan batsmen Sohail Tanvir and Shane Warne overwhelmed the target in the final delivery.
Though Dhoni refused to blame anyone for the defeat, Suresh Raina dropping Yusuf Pathan, while the batsman was on 13, probably cost them the match.
Pathan, the eventual Man of the Match, mishit Muttiah Muralitharan to offer a skier which Raina grassed and the all-rounder went on to hit 56 off just 39 balls to snatch the match.
{{/usCountry}}Pathan, the eventual Man of the Match, mishit Muttiah Muralitharan to offer a skier which Raina grassed and the all-rounder went on to hit 56 off just 39 balls to snatch the match.
{{/usCountry}}Pathan was also lucky to get another life when, batting on 33, he offered a difficult caught-and-bowled chance to MS Goni who dropped the catch.