As their semifinals hopes went up in smoke, a distraught Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday held his batsmen responsible for the debacle as well as the inability to handle crunch situations.
Mumbai suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Chennai Super Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday which ended all their hopes to make the semifinal grade.
"We tried every combination. We fell short by a couple of runs in crunch moments. We could not put enough runs on board," admitted Tendulkar at the post-match ceremony.
The batting maestro felt the extras also affected their cause.
"We gave away a lot of extras, couple of byes and leg-byes in crunch situations," the Mumbaikar said.
His Super Kings counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni wasn't too satisfied despite the victory that ensured them a semi-final berth.
"We are committing the same mistakes in fielding. We are committing them in each and every game. If we don't get it right in the knock-out stage, we would be in for trouble," the India skipper warned.
While Matthew Hayden has been going strong, Chennai have struggled to find him a partner at the top of the order. But Dhoni was ready to give Parthiv Patel some more chance to prove his credentials.
{{/usCountry}}While Matthew Hayden has been going strong, Chennai have struggled to find him a partner at the top of the order. But Dhoni was ready to give Parthiv Patel some more chance to prove his credentials.
{{/usCountry}}"I think Parthiv can do it. Last year he did a good job for us. We will give him some more matches and hopefully he will get back to form," said Dhoni.
Hayden too echoed similar sentiments.
"Parthiv has been a bit unlucky today. But he is a good striker of the ball. Hope to see him continue," said Hayden when asked who ought to partner him upfront.