Mumbai Indians were poor on batting front

Harbhajan Singh rues insipid performance from batters after defending champions Mumbai Indians remain winless in the tournament

Mumbai Indians were poor on batting front

After ending up on the losing side in Mumbai Indians’ last Champions League Twenty20 match against Sydney Sixers on Monday, Mumbai skipper Harbhajan Singh said the defending champions paid the price for a slow start in their 12-run loss.

Mumbai ended the tournament on a winless note. They lost three out of four matches, while one was washed out.

Time to pack up: Mumbai Indians’ skipper Harbhajan Singh. Pic/Atul Kamble

“This was a kind of game that hurt more than last few games. A total of 137 on this wicket was very much gettable, not just in 20 overs, but 18 overs. But, I think we batted too slowly in the opening part and didn’t look to carry on. We also kept on losing wickets,” said Harbhajan after the defeat.

“No one carried the responsibility and at the end of the day, we are on the losing side just because we didn’t play well. We didn’t take responsibility and also didn’t look to score,” he added.

Harbhajan admitted that batting in the Powerplay has been Mumbai’s problem. Openers Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith couldn’t dominate the Sydney bowlers. Mumbai scored 30 in the six overs.

“We didn’t get a start in the first six overs. If you see the last game against Chennai (Super Kings), we were chasing 170-odd and we were 25 for two and here today, we were chasing 137. You have to take the game away from the opposition by scoring runs in the first six, and that didn’t happen here. Even in the IPL (Indian Premier League), the same thing happened. That’s where we have to improve as a team,” said Harbhajan.

“We bowled really well throughout the tournament. The bowlers did a good job and that’s all I can say. We tried our best, probably we didn’t play well as a unit,” he added.

Sydney captain Brad Haddin lavished high praise on his team. “This was our best fielding display and I am proud of that. They are really smart and they know their role,” said Haddin. u00a0

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