Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself to No 3 but holed out to long-on for 4 © AFP Enlarge

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, has attributed the upset defeat against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Wednesday to "bad shot selection" from his batsmen.

"One or two stands could have got us through to a win," Dhoni said after the defeat. "No one took the responsibility. Couple of bad shot selections affected us today. It was a gettable total."

Chasing a low target of 127, Chennai were comfortably placed at 60 for 0 in the 10th over before a collapse left them 14 runs short of the target. Their opening partnership aside, Chennai's second-highest stand was only 20 for the third wicket between Stephen Fleming and Suresh Raina.

"We changed the batting order according to situation," Dhoni, who promoted himself to No 3, said. "Most of them floated around. If the players had thought in the middle as much as they thought at the dressing room, we would have won."

The defeat has made Chennai's task of securing a semi-final berth tougher. If Delhi lose all their games, Chennai can afford to go through without winning another. In case Delhi and Mumbai win one and Chennai don't, it will be down to net run-rate. If Delhi win both games, Chennai must win one of their remaining two. Dhoni and Co can make matters easier by winning both, but their next match is against Rajasthan, the strongest side, and it may come down to the clash against the Deccan Chargers for them to ensure their spot.

"We do not want to wait till the last league match [against Deccan Chargers] and are keen to make the semi-final grade against Rajasthan," Dhoni said.

Chennai's next game is against Rajasthan on May 24 at the MA Chidambaram Staduim and their final match is against Deccan on May 27.