'We are pretty much out of the semi-finals' - Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers' stand-in captain, has conceded that his team is out of contention for a semi-final spot after they slumped to a 23-run defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders, their seventh loss in nine matches.

"I guess we are pretty much out of semi-finals. It is disappointing but we can't change anything," Gilchrist told IANS, as his team remained on the second-last place in the team standings.

"It is hard to enjoy [playing] when you are continuously losing matches. We can try to find out reasons," he said. "No one is to be blamed. Every player has got to take responsibility for that."

Gilchrist said the team's poor bowling towards the end of the innings was the reason for their defeat against Kolkata. "The difference was the last six overs, which brought 100 runs. When that happens, you are putting yourselves under pressure. It is hard to cope with that."

Meanwhile, Gilchrist praised the performance of Venugopal Rao, who made a battling 71 off 42 balls, which included half-a-dozen sixes. "There are a couple of positives there. You have Venugopal Rao ... he played a brilliant innings."

Kolkata's captain, Sourav Ganguly, was relieved after his side won their second successive match. He was also happy with the way his team had coped with the loss of their foreign stars - Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum.

"It was an important game for us. We lost a couple of matches in a row earlier. In terms of losing players we are the worst affected. This game was very crucial and we had to win it," Ganguly told PTI.

Ganguly also said Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was in the frame for Tuesday's match against the Delhi Daredevils. "If he is fit he will play the next match."