Vettori caused our demise, says Mumbai Indians’ James Franklin

All-rounder James Franklin was dumbfounded during his media interaction after Mumbai Indians' exit from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday night

Vettori caused our demise, says Mumbai Indians' James Franklin

All-rounder James Franklin was dumbfounded during his media interaction after Mumbai Indians' exit from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday night.

When asked if skipper Sachin Tendulkar made the call to bowl first before the start of the game, a decision that backfired heavily, Franklin said: "I am not actually privy to that process. I had no idea whether we were going to bat or bowl. I am not in a position to make my opinion on that. Sometimes, it doesn't matter too much. Perhaps, it did this time. I am not sure."

RCB's Vettori celebrates the dismissal of Mumbai's Pollard on Friday.
PIC/SURESH KK

Franklin conceded that Abu Nechim's first over that leaked 27 runs made it virtually impossible for Mumbai to fight back. "We were outplayed. Right from the first over when they scored close to 30 runs... we were immediately on the back foot.u00a0 It was always a case of just trying to peg it back and I thought we did a really good job. We allowed only 70 odd runs in the last ten overs. We are obviously disappointed to lose a semi-final. We were confident of progressing to the final," he said.

Franklin credited fellow countryman Daniel Vettori for plotting Mumbai's downfall. "His changes of pace are exceptional, and that's what led to our downfall. He bowled beautifully well - kept our batsmen guessing all the time with his in drift and change of pace. He's a world-class performer and has been bowling really well this IPL season," concluded Franklin, who scored 16 off 17 balls in Mumbai's 142. The Kiwi southpaw also defended his team's decision to promote Harbhajan Singh ahead of Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. "The thought behind sending Harbhajan was the right one at the time. In the last couple of games, he had given us some momentum batting at number three. He had a license to go after the bowling, unfortunately it didn't come off on the day," said Franklin.