A journey which began with four defeats in a row, followed by a six-match winning streak and then another three defeats ended when the Chennai Super Kings beat the Deccan Chargers.
Sachin Tendulkar & Co. were knocked out of the semifinal race when MS Dhoni’s Chennai beat Deccan Chargers by seven wickets to grab the last semifinal spot
A journey which began with four defeats in a row, followed by a six-match winning streak and then another three defeats ended when the Chennai Super Kings beat the Deccan Chargers. Chennai’s seven-wicket win meant that the match between Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers is only of academic interest.
With their win, Chennai have moved to 16 points, while Mumbai have only 12 points with a game in hand. Virender Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils are comfortably perched with 15 points. So the teams that will now clash in the semifinals are Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings.
The Mumbai Indians have none but themselves to blame. They wilted under pressure in their last three games, all last-over finishes. The game against Kings XI Punjab was decided in the last ball and so was Monday’s match against Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, while Dinesh Karthik’s 56 off 32 balls helped the Daredevils edge out Mumbai on Saturday with one ball to spare.
So if the revival that was preceded by stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh slapping S Sreesanth after a loss was impressive, then the last three defeats showed that the Mumbai Indians lacked the killer instinct. When it mattered most, there was none in the team who put their hands up and performed and that sums up why the most expensive franchisee in the IPL has been knocked out.
It has been well-chronicled that Sachin Tendulkar is a great influence in the dressing room but on the field, under the floodlights and in front of the passionate thousands, the batting maestro’s leadership skills didn’t make a difference.
Neeraj Patel should have been feeling all the heat in the close finish against the Rajasthan Royals. But it was Mumbai Indians bowler Dilhara Fernando, incessantly advised by Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar, who lost the plot in the dying minutes of the game.
Against, the tough as nails, Kings XI Punjab, the Mumbai Indians felt the heat as soon as Tendulkar, who was holding the innings together, departed. Overall, on the field it looked like the ‘Indians’ were always reacting to situations rather than being in complete control of proceedings.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock played their part in getting the Mumbai Indians thus far, while Tendulkar played the role of a cheerleader during the first half of the tournament and then displayed glimpses of his class.
For a team that included the finest opener, a world class all-rounder and arguably the best batsman of the past few generations, the Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians let themselves down.
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