Like the proverbial horse that shoots out of the gates too quickly, the Dolphins seem to be running out of steam at a crucial stage of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. They have the better part of the week to recuperate, but consecutive losses are not easy to rebound from.While the Cape Cobras and the Highveld Lions are starting to find form, the Dolphins are finding themselves in the gritty battle for third place.With two games remaining in their campaign, a win will secure a play-off spot, but Sunday's narrow win over the Lions has no doubt made the Dolphins reconsider the extent of their prowess.The Lions were in control for large parts of the game - and lost by a mere six runs to the Dolphins.Had the Dolphins been in more form at the batting crease, they could have won the game with a minimum of fuss.A more convincing victory would have brought their tally to 22 points after eight games and so ensured they would not finish any lower than third in the competition.It will take an impressive comeback from the Lions and the Warriors to overtake the Dolphins, while the Cobras are standing at 16 points, a respectable tally.Six points separate the fourth-placed Lions (12) from the second-placed Dolphins (18), but the Lions have two games in hand.Those games could have been rendered irrelevant had the Dolphins batsmen taken on the responsibility of managing what was an achievable target.While former international HD Ackerman was right to state that the level of batsmanship in this season's tournament has left a lot to be desired, the senior batsmen of the Dolphins were, in the beginning, proving the exception to that rule.The highest team total in this T20 has been 179, a tally the Dolphins scored twice during Kevin Pietersen's five-match stint.Vaughn van Jaarsveld and David Miller showed glimpses of what they are capable of once they have their eye in, but were more inclined to fold than burst into rapid-fire fours and sixes.The surfaces are not getting any easier to bat on, despite the lack of rain, highlighting the importance of having key batsmen batting deep into the innings.Had Van Jaarsveld stayed in for the duration of the innings, Dwaine Pretorius's match-winning spell might not have happened. He would have been forced to bowl earlier as Van Jaarsveld's ease with despatching spinners like Eddie Leie and Aaron Phangiso would have necessitated a change in tactics.What happened in Johannesburg cannot be undone, but the next two crucial games will require the underperformers in the Dolphins unit to rise to the challenge. Miller and Van Jaarsveld cannot continue to shoulder the batting burden while the rest of the line-up is determined to throw wickets away.The Knights' tournament is all but over with no wins from their six matches, but with nothing to lose, they could easily derail the Dolphins campaign on Saturday at St George's Park.With a dysfunctional batting unit, anything is possible...