All about showing self-belief, focus

Fortunately for Mumbai on Friday, they had the bits-and-pieces cricketers who could haul them over the line. My heart goes out to Rajasthan and Rahul Dravid. They have been the sentimental favourites this edition and it was wonderful to see them fight till the very end. Javagal Srinath writes.

Fortunately for Mumbai on Friday, they had the bits-and-pieces cricketers who could haul them over the line. My heart goes out to Rajasthan and Rahul Dravid. They have been the sentimental favourites this edition and it was wonderful to see them fight till the very end.

Rahul has shown himself to be a wonderful leader of men throughout his career and it was good to see that his spirit and attitude rubbed off on his team-mates during what has been a very troubled period.

CSK have been the most successful team in the league. They have benefited from having a settled look through most of these years. But it is a question of mind over matter. These are difficult times for CSK and it is inevitable that the happenings off the field will have come as a distraction.

Fortunately, in MS Dhoni they have a captain who has this ability to cut off all distractions and focus on the job. Mumbai have always had the personnel but somehow have found a title elusive. They must believe that they can do it.

The writer is a former India pacer