Mahendra Singh Dhoni's aim was to take the game against KXIP deep and ensure a top-two finish for defending champions CSK once he realised that the KL Rahul blitzkrieg has sealed the deal for the home team.
A team that enters IPL play-offs as either table-toppers or No 2 would get two clear shots at summit clash qualification.
"If you can't win a game, you make sure you get the opposition to get the runs in most number of overs. (Qualifying for top 2) Yes, and that's something you have to keep in mind," Dhoni said after the match.
"We want to win the game, but if the opposition does well, you have to quickly adapt and re-assess," said Dhoni at the post match presentation ceremony.
CSK lost after the hosts chased down the target in 18 overs.
But CSK would be happy that with a net run-rate of +0.131 which is far better than Delhi Capitals' +0.044, the defending champions will remain in the top two having two chances to qualify for the IPL finals.
Dhoni applauded his bowlers for pulling things back and not letting KXIP batsmen finish the game earlier.
"The first seven overs, we were quite down, but then the bowlers were able to pull things back a little bit. They bowled well in the last 8-9 overs for us."