Cape Town: Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that the free hits conceded at crucial junctures of the match took the momentum from Chennai Super Kings and was one of the reasons for their six wickets loss to Highveld Lions in the group stage match against Highveld Lions here on Tuesday.

"Small things matter a lot. The timing of the no-balls was crucial. All of a sudden the momentum shifted, they were able to score a lot more freely," said Dhoni.

The Lions hit a six off a free hit in the ninth over by Albie Morkel and then one in the 17th over by Ravichandran Ashwin.

Dhoni said even though they scored 158 which looked a competitive total, he felt that they fell short by some runs.

"We got off to a very good start, we lost too many wickets in the middle, so we were not able to slog the way we could have, but we still got the score we wanted. I think 160 was a good score," he said after Chennai’s six wicket defeat to Highveld Lions.

Chennai now find themselves in a precarious situation after two consecutive defeats and the road to semifinals have become very difficult for them.

"It is difficult for us now to qualify for the semis but nothing comes easy. We have to learn our mistakes and apply ourselves and come up with some big scores," said Dhoni.

Meanwhile, Lion’s skipper Alviro Petersen praised his batsmen especially Ghulam Bodi.

"Halfway through the game I thought we gave 15 runs too many. The batsmen stayed calm. Bodi played exceptionally well with McKenzie and the two young men finished it for us. It was a case of getting to the last three overs. Guys at the end showed some mettle and steel," he said.

Bodi scored 64 off 46 deliveries that included five fours and four sixes.

By Indian Sports News Network