Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori came down heavily on his bowlers after they let Chennai Super Kings off the hook in the first play-off match of the Indian Premier League.
Despite being placed at a precarious stage at one stage, Chennai stormed into the final of the IPL riding on Suresh Raina's brilliance and his 18-ball 46-run partnership with Albie Morkel, at the Wankhede stadium.
"We were in control for most of the game. We didn't bowl well in the last five overs. They have got quality players. We bowled too many balls that could be hit for a six. (Suresh) Raina played a good innings," Vettori said.
Asked if the team was all about Chris Gayle, the skipper said "It was a good match and it's just that we ended up on the losing side. 175 was a pretty good score. We would have been happy with that at the start of the day. Whether Chris (Gayle) got runs or not, our bowling particularly at the end let us down. We have to get better in the last five overs." Vettori said his team ought to have shown more discipline.
"In T20 cricket, grounds are small and with guys like Raina, Morkel and (MS) Dhoni we have got to be perfect to get away with things. Unfortunately, we didn't do that today. They were better than us," he said.
Asked if Virat Kohli's innings was overshadowed by Raina's special knock, Vettori said, "Raina's innings will be remembered as it ended in a victory. Kohli has been a quality player for us. Kohli and Gayle are the reason we have got so far into the tournament. He is a run scorer and has proved it in every aspect of his career."
On the positives and the chances of reaching the final, he said, "S Aravind and Zaheer (Khan) continued to bowl well at the start. (Luke) Pomersbach played exceptionally well to take us to a competitive score. Chris did well with the ball.
"We just have to got to focus on what went right for us today and wait for tomorrow's game to know who we will face next. We have beaten KKR twice this year and lost to Mumbai but we are still confident of making it to the final. It's a pretty important game coming in the next few days."
