CSK can't be a great fielding side but can cover it up, says MS Dhoni

His comments came after CSK defeated Delhi Capitals on their home turf in Feroz Shah Kotla by 6 wickets.

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Having the oldest core team in the IPL makes Chennai Super Kings susceptible to bleeding runs on the field but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the side more than makes up for it with its bowling and batting. 

Chennai won their second successive IPL match, beating Delhi Capitals by six wickets on Tuesday night.

"We are well covered in other areas (but) we will never be a great fielding side, we can be a safe fielding side. We might bleed a few runs here and there, but as long as we use our experience, we'll make it up with our batting and bowling," Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.

"You don't want the XI to push too hard and get injured. We haven't done well at the death, so plenty of areas to work on. But still, it is a good victory," he added.

The CSK core is mostly in its 30s. Dhoni is 37, Shane Watson is 35 while Dwayne Bravo is 34. The other core members include 39-year-old Imran Tahir, 38-year-old Harbhajan Singh, 34-year-old Faf du Plessis, 33-year-old Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav, and soon-to-be 32 Suresh Raina.

Dhoni praised his bowlers for restricting Delhi Capitals to a low score.

"The wicket turned more than expected in the first innings. In the second innings, there was enough dew to make it slightly easier to bat on. I thought the bowlers did very well to restrict Delhi to 147," he said. 

"Losing Ngidi at the start of the tournament was a big blow because he was our quickest bowler."

A disappointed Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer said that the wicket was not the easiest.

"For the new batsman, the pitch was really tough. I usually don't have trouble starting against spinners but today it was turning and holding up. Our best batter Rishabh Pant also found it tough. The wicket was slow and that's why I decided to bat first."

"We were 10-15 runs short. I wouldn't blame the batting. We could have restricted them in the powerplay. There are a lot of games remaining and this is just the beginning," he said. 

"Still there are a lot of positives to take from this match. We took it till the last over, so that is a plus point for the moment."

Man of the match, Shane Watson, who hit 44 runs off 26 balls, said that the Kotla pitch was better than the track at CSK's home in Chennai. 

"It was a little better to bat on than in Chennai, so it was good to get a few off the middle. I had a few calf injuries, and I tried to keep myself up and running through the Big Bash," said Watson