Mumbai Indians loss puts Tendulkar's captaincy in question

Sachin Tendulkar's Indians are all set to bid South Africa goodbye after Saturday's loss to Chennai Super Kings. You can put that down to a poor show of nerves

Sachin Tendulkar's Indians are all set to bid South Africa goodbye after Saturday's loss to Chennai Super Kings. You can put that down to a poor show of nerves

In the strategic break against Chennai Super Kings, a gesture by Mumbai Indians' coach Shaun Pollock to someone in the team's dugout said it all. With the movement of his right hand, opening and closing to touch the thumb and fingers (like in a puppet show), he was trying to imitate someone talking a lot.

At a little distance, Sachin Tendulkar was huddled in a group with his local boys and giving them a long pep talk. You can't be sure about connecting the two incidents but given Pollock's reaction after the defeat to Rajasthan Royals at Durban, the meaning of his action was not lost to everyone present. He had made his disagreement over the captain's style of approaching big matches quite clear.

Their different approach to the task were apparent when Pollock walked up to the huddle, did not say much other than cheer his team up with a pumped-up fist and a few energetic claps. Analysing the debacle after the seven-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, Tendulkar admitted that his team couldn't win the crunch moments. Looking back, the results might have been different if Tendulkar and his men were a bit more relaxed in their approach. It could have allowed them to play more freely. And that is what Pollock seemed to be saying during the break on Saturday.

Sachin Tendulkar makes his way to the pavilion in Port Elizabeth after being dismissed by Chennai Super Kings' Suresh Raina for 11 on Saturday. PIC/AFP

Tendulkar is undisputedly the greatest batsman of this generation. There is no rift in this MI team because of his strong personality. To be fair, he put in a sincere effort to get results for MI. He led by example and the way they approached their training, this team was by far the most disciplined in the tournament.

There was only one shortcoming in his captaincy and that made a telling difference in the final results. His team looked very tense and took too much pressure. Maybe, he was trying too hard to succeed.

MI just don't know how to win close matches. It is the second year in succession that they have messed up their semi-final chances. They have the dubious distinction of losing all their tense games. They lost five close encounters last season, including the last over defeat to Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, and they have lost all their close matches here too.

In the first-leg game against Kings XI Punjab, they failed to chase 120 and finished on 117 with three wickets in hand. The most heartbreaking was their loss to Rajasthan Royals when they couldn't finish off needing just four runs off six balls. In that game, one personality, who was with the MI last season, had even said before the last over began that 'they are going to lose, they just don't know how to win close matches'.

It is like the South African team during Pollock's playing days which used to get there and choke. That even the fearless Sanath Jayasuriya started to feel the nerves, tells the tale.

The table is too complicated to definitely say that MI are out of the semi-final race, but for all practical purposes, it is the end of their South Africa IPL sojourn. Had they held their nerve, they would have topped the table. But, sadly for the champion batsman, his captaincy jinx continues.