Skipper Tendulkar livid after Mumbai Indians' Champions League loss

Skip Tendulkar does not hold back the tough talk after mI's defeat

To say that Sachin Tendulkar was disappointed or disillusioned after Mumbai Indians' embarrassing five-wicket defeat to South Australian Redbacks in the Champions League T20 at Kingsmead last night would be an
understatement.


South Australian Redbacks' batsmen Cameron Borgas (lef)and Tom Cooper celebrate their victory over Mumbai Indians in their Champions League T20 match at Kingsmead, Durban yesterday.

Tendulkar knows that they are virtually out of the running for the lucrative Champions League crown which will be decided at the Wanderers on September 26.
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After scoring a match-winning 180-7, the Mumbai Indians were unable to tie the South Australian Redbacks down as they scampered to 182-5 with three balls to spare.

Last night's defeat means that they will need to win their last two games against Guyana at the same venue tomorrow and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Kingsmead on Sunday then hope for miracles to unfold.

"Our destiny in this tournament is in our own hands," said Tendulkar. We must control what we are able to control and leave it there.

"We cannot now expect other teams in the competition or in our section of the draw to come to our rescue. We've dug ourselves into this hole and we will need to come out of it on our own."

Tendulkar admitted that two key aspects of the Mumbai Indians' game didnot come to the fore. It was the same story at the Wanderers when they were shocked by the Lions.

Their fielding - they dropped five catches at crucial stages - and their bowling, though they started magnificently, was embarrassingly poor.

"We were poor in the field and I'll be the first to admit that.That aspect of the game has not come to the party since the opening match in Johannesburg," he said. "However, I cannot complaint as bitterly about our bowling.
Zaheer and (Lasith) Malinga were fantastic up front but then took a bit of pounding at the end when the dew factor played a part."

Tendulkar said that the one aspect of the Mumbai Indians game that he was more than satisfied with was the batting. "A total of 180 on that track was a winning score.
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We were in it till the 17th over, but then two poor overs saw them get boundaries and that took the
game away from us," he said ruefully.

"We batted well and we've done so in both matches. We backed ourselves to win but came unstuck," he added.