Mumbai Indians and the Tendulkar curse
Mumbai Indians lost to Kings XI Punjab by 1 run. This is really a shame considering the way Kings XI Punjab fielded and Mumbai Indians batted. Punjab dropped some crucial catches and were really sloppy in the field for the most part. When they fielded well (only Yuvraj) they have inflicted in some run outs which has helped them to clinch this thriller by only one run.
Punjab batted first and lost an early wicket. But, the show started after they lost the first wicket. Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach had set Mumbai on fire with some serious blows. At one stage it looked like a total of 220 is possible. But, Mumbai Indians pulled back to restrict Punjab team for 189 runs. Marsh scored 81 and Pomerbach scored 79.
Mumbai needed an explosive start especially from Jayasuriya. With Sachin not into his grove yet, it all depended on Jayasuriya. He scored some quick runs and provided the start they were looking for but fell for 20 runs. Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo’s replacement scored a quick fire 20 and kept the momentum going. Still, the batting was revolving around Sachin. He had a few hits and misses and played an innings which is uncharacteristic of him. He stayed untill the 15th over and scored only 50 odd runs. But, the important thing is he was determined to take his side to victory. You can feel that by looking at the shots he played. Robin Uthappa is a rare semblance of his former self. He was never in any form and trying to play shots which were not necessary. Sachin has to come down the track to keep this Bangalore boy focus on taking singles. That has costed Sachin his wicket, thanks to some handy work by Irfan Pathan. This, I guess, is the umpteenth time where Sachin gets out when he is on 65 and his team starts losing wickets and eventually the match. The other famous incident is the 1996 India vs Srilanka semi-final. Who can forget the stumping by Romesh Kaluwitharana when Sachin was on 65, and the collapse of the team after that, and also Vinod Kambli’s emotional break out. That is what a Tendulkar’s curse means.
Sachin signalled Uthappa to stay till the end before walking to the dug-out. But Uthappa’s instincts overtook him and costed his team his wicket and the match. It came down to the last over needing 19 runs and VRV Singh of Punjab gave away runs at will. Mumbai needed 2 runs of the last ball. Yeligati is on strike and he played a defensive stroke to Yuvraj. Yuvraj fielded and ran and dived onto the wickets at the bowlers end and ran Yeligati out. I was expecting a bowl out.
Yuvraj Singh’s behaviour on-field and the way he treats his players deserve a mention. He does not know how to lose. He might be a good winner but a bad loser. The way he chided VRV Singh for a misfield was deplorable. Also, he made some nasty comments after match at the Mumbai crowd.
It has been 44 matches and we still don’t have a bowl out. This is really disappointing. IPL has already seen some blistering knocks, faster 50’s, big sixers, 3 hat-tricks. If there was one bowl out it would make this exciting jouney complete.
- Mumbai Indians and the Tendulkar curse
- Kings XI Punjab pip Daredevils
- Who will be the skipper of Mumbai Indians?
- Deccan Chargers find their elusive win
- Mumbai Indians might find it too easy
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