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Fleming rues missed opportunities in post-match press conference

Published: 14:21 EST, 17 May 2012 | Updated: 14:46 EST, 17 May 2012

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Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming walked into the post-match press conference with a funereal air about him.

The men in yellow squandered an opportunity to get into the play-offs on Thursday and will now have to wait for other results to fall in their favour in order to qualify.

Fleming admitted his team had been thoroughly outplayed. "Kings XI bowled beautifully on this pitch, and kept us under pressure.

It was difficult to get any momentum on a day when we needed to play at our best. While we are always hopeful (of making the play-offs), we have to be realistic. We have got ourselves into a position where we are reliant on a lot of things," the former New Zealand captain told reporters.

Regardless of whether they reach the last four or not, Fleming wasn't satisfied with the way the two-time defending champions played this season.

'We had the opportunity to win a couple of games that we didn't, and that's hurt us in the long run. We were consistent in our team selection and approach, but perhaps we didn't have the flair we had previously. It was disappointing,' he said.

Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist gave full credit to his bowlers, who helped keep their own play-off hopes alive. 'PK (Praveen Kumar) did a wonderful job, and they were perfect conditions for him.

We judged the wicket well and the bowlers put the ball in perfect spots. You often see bowlers get a wicket like that and try too hard, but all credit to them. But the way we got off to a flier in the chase showed it wasn't a match-winning toss,' the Australian legend said.

On his own comeback after a nine-game hiatus due to a hamstring injury, Gilchrist said: "It was a big decision to leave Shaun Marsh out.

I got a lot of inputs from (assistant coach) Vikram Rathore, (bowling coach) Joe Dawes and (standin captain) David Hussey, and it worked out well. I haven't thought ahead to (playing) the next match, because I wanted to see how I got through this game first,' the Man of the Match said.