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Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 final, Mumbai
Mumbai lose bearings when it matters most
An inexplicable strategic error cost Mumbai Indians the IPL final, and it will haunt them for some time
Cricinfo staff
April 26, 2010
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A couple of moves cost Mumbai Indians the IPL. Both were loaded with nothing but risk. The first was to send Abhishek Nayar at No. 3. If that was not a gamble, whatever Robin Singh and the rest of the think tank thought before asking Harbhajan Singh to walk in to bat next was hard to comprehend especially when Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard, batsmen who had played a crucial role in Mumbai reaching the final, should've been given the preference.
Even before Mumbai had won the semi-finals against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they were aware that Sachin Tendulkar, their captain and star batsman, was fighting to get fit for the ultimate game. It was only appropriate then that the management put faith in the team's most trusted lieutenants - a responsibility carried out successfully and admirably by the pair of Rayudu and Tiwary all season. Such has been the importance of that pair that they have easily been the Indian success story of IPL 2010.
On numerous occasions, both Rayudu and Tiwary had allied grit with instincts and smart strategy to put Mumbai in a winning position. They couldn't have asked for a better teacher than Tendulkar, who deserved to win the orange cap, a belated birthday gift. Perhaps, the biggest lesson they seemed to have learnt from the master was pacing the innings.
As a fresh example, refer to the semi-final against Bangalore. Mumbai had lost Tendulkar in the second over and though Nayar hung around staunchly to guard any collapse, it was Rayudu and Tiwary who pushed the opposition back and regained control before Pollard slashed ruthlessly. His 13-ball 31 allowed Mumbai ransack 77 runs in the last five overs, easily the biggest turning point in the semis. In the final, Mumbai needed the same vigour.
This does not mean that Nayar, a proven allrounder, was not up for the job. But he had his limitations. He was only playing his third match of the season, having spent most of the time recuperating from a wrist injury. Though he hung around tenaciously, Nayar failed to answer to Tendulkar's call to up the ante in the first ten overs. As a result there were a few airy swings and cheeky singles, but that did not force the issue. Ideally Nayar was suited in the lower order, a role he had managed successfully last year in South Africa.
"They tried to push their big hitters down the order so that may be my left-arm spinner can't bowl with the left-armer at the crease," was how MS Dhoni read Mumbai's strategy, but it was not just about big hitting. It was more about playing percentages and then picking the bad ball to get easy runs. Importantly, with Tendulkar in pain, the other guy needed to dominate.
That is what Rayudu did as soon as Harbhajan went back swinging his bat wildly. Immediately, he picked the loose balls to hit over the inner circle into the wide gaps and found the ropes easily. His positive approach allowed Tendulkar, who till then appeared cagey, to free his arms. The partnership prospered fast and 27 were scored off 14 balls before Tendulkar's punch landed in the hands of M Vijay at long-off.
Though hopes still lingered with Tiwary and Pollard still to bat, Mumbai's fightback had started late. The asking rate hovered in the ten-an-over mark which meant the following batsmen were under pressure and the margin for error was minimal. They had to accelerate from the first ball and take chances. Duminy and Tiwary failed, but Pollard nearly answered the rousing calls of the full house and threatened to pay back the (undisclosed) big purse the Ambanis had bought him for in one night. It was also an evening heavy with the uncertainty of IPL chairman Lalit Modi's future. Pollard's cameo seemed to lift the gloom pervading the IPL as it enlivened the atmosphere and brought cricket back to the centrestage. Except the miracle never happened, and Mumbai had to pay for their fallacy.
Explaining his batting line-up for the day, Robin said Mumbai wanted to play Pollard kin the final overs when he could take on the fast bowlers. Obviously, he did not mention Pollard's discomfort against spin and hence it was no point exposing him against Chennai's trio of spinners. But it would have been more viable to put faith in Rayudu and Tiwary in the top order and leave the finishing role to Pollard and Nayar. It was inexplicable strategic error that will haunt the league's richest franchise for long.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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Mumbai,Bollywood,Modi and the Maratha pride took a beating as Chennai Super Kings humilated Mumbai Indians in front of a partisan home crowd.What a victory it was for CSK.Mumbai inspite of having one of the richest man in the world as team owner backing them,the greatest player in the world as their captain,the highest paid cricketer in the IPL in its rank,the biggest administrator in the world in Sharad Pawar were made to bite the dust in front of the 60,000 strong crowd rooting for them.In the end CSK showed that it is discipline and what you do on the field that matters and not Bollywood and glamour.Well done Dhoni's boys.
Posted by MegaFan on (April 27, 2010, 12:46 GMT)SRT expected that MI bowlers would restrict CSK for 120-130 so that with broken limb he would play and get with 100 RPO . In middle of dug out he couldn't digest to make close to 170. and just played chasing 140
Posted by Elrond on (April 27, 2010, 11:55 GMT)I wonder why no one is talking about the "spirit of Mumbai".
The famous spirit was there for all to see when CSK won and the stadium was emptying well before the presentation ceremony!
Also, I keep wondering why the Mumbaikars consider this as a close match. The match was almost lost when the CSK put a 160+ total on board and started the defense with a maiden! The Pollard innings, while good when it lasted, did little but raise the hopes for the ardent home fan.
This was one of the most boring, one-sided finals in recent memory!
Posted by leveler on (April 27, 2010, 10:20 GMT)he he he..it seems all tendulkar bashers have found their voices again.. with recent perfomances with bat and as a captain he had made them jobless .. but one strategic mistake in final and destractiors are at him .. wow.. time for some work finally...:).. see tendular never disapponts anybody .. not even his distractors....
Posted by sainath_murali on (April 27, 2010, 9:41 GMT)I think on Sunday , what i saw was unlike Sachin, both in terms of captaincy and also an individual(who i always admired).Even if i leave all the gross mistakes he committed like playing when not fit and error of leaving pollard behind , as a hardcore CSK fan ,for whom the name sachin meant placing the game above anything else, i saw him also getting consumed by hypocrisy.He had clearly nicked the ball, not only one can see it in the TV replays but he also avoided eye contact with umpire.I felt really let down. Also in the post presentation , he just mentioned how his team played rather than appreciative of the fact his team was really outclassed by a far superior team, but then at the end the saving grace was that he congratulated CSK for winning.I guess it proves that the game's greatest individual players are not necessarily good leaders.About Mumbai crowd, well ,they need to understand what is meant by supporter..as they even boo Yuvi...what else needs to be said about them....
Posted byu well said.."ST made few puzzling moves which backfired: 1. Palying Duminy instead of Jayasurya. Jayasurya is a big match player and cause havoc agaisnt any bowling attack. 2. Sending in Nayar and Harbhajan at No.3 & 4 instead of Duminy & Rayadu or Tiwary & Rayadu 3. Sending in Pollard at No.8 when only 3 overs were left, when you have paid astronomical amount to hire him. 4. Lat but not the least, should ST have risked playing in this match? We want him to serve India in the test and 1 day arena for some more time? But the biggest surprise was ST 's attitude, which was so unlike ST that we believed him to be: 1. His vociferous appeal and premature celebration against Dravid, when he knew very well that he had grassed the ball. 2. ST clearly gloved the ball to Dhoni in the finals, but did not walk, instead stood his ground and carried on. Strange things, eh!!" What is strange in it dear, its the prejudice leads to this; if one knows what ST is, then there will be no strangeness at all
Posted by HP_75 on (April 27, 2010, 8:47 GMT)Ha ha! Another opportunity for those jealous of Tendulkar's standing in the game to take potshots! All because their favourite players - Dravid or Ponting or xyz - were destined to be overshadowed. I mean why couldn't Sir Don Bradman, Shane Warne and others praise these people's favourites the same way! Boo hoo! Well cry all you want...SRT is destined to continue winning matches for India and breaking more records.
Posted by2. well said..I am amazed at the eulogizing of S. Tendulkar in the recently concluded IPL. He was cited as man of highest integrity .. but did not stand up to it when he "caught" Dravid in slips during semifinal match.. till the verdict was given, Gavaskar was praising him high on integrity & that Dravid should have known ST for that & he should walk.. but dead silence followed .. with Gavaskar praising Dravid for a splendid knock. Here is a man who played against all odds and with a huge injury (split web between fingers) with stitches. it is the same person who calls shots as to which country he visits and when he wants to play for India .. He claims to be proud of playing for India but still ditches them citing minor health problems.. ST rightly said that IPL is all about greed .. please look into the mirror .. If not for money.. I would like know the motivation for ST to play the IPL final with such a serious injury.. Take up the challenge.. play for India in World T20. Why amazed
Posted byThe missed chances of Suresh Raina are nowhere accounted for. Is it to be blamed onto SRT? The problem was with Mumbai's sloppy fielding which dropped two easy chances to let Chennai come back into the match. The failure of Duminy, Dhawan, Tiwary and Harbhajan, is to be blamed on SRT's leadership skills? Yeah right, SRT forms the core of the blames as always for you losers. Kindly understand, when wickets are falling at one end, how can a batsman on the other end, play a dominating role? Dhoni's luck with captaincy continues. Even though he did not play more than a couple of innings out of the 16 matches of IPL, he still gets the credit for Raina's and others performance. What biased comments being put here. SRT is not a GOD, he performed in most of the matches, but you need support to convert a closely fought match to a win and that's what was missed in the Final as mentioned in Cricinfo articles. Kindly put Dhoni in Sachin's situation and then think about the same scenario, for good
Posted by Quazar on (April 27, 2010, 6:50 GMT)Wow, Tendulkar haters can also be incredibly over-the-top! Yes, he made some crucial strategic mistakes, but he also led his team to the final. And he would have made the same money even if he didn't play the final - injured players still get their full pay check. And the orange cap (& purple cap) is for the league stage only (14 matches) - he had already won that. Tendulkar plays to win, and has been India's (arguably the world's) greatest matchwinner in limited overs cricket - 34 hundreds in winning causes, and the biggest reason India made it to the WC semis in 1996 and the 2003 WC final. No other Indian player has contributed as much in World Cups in the last 20 years. I guess only after he retires will people realize how big a void will be created, especially when playing outside the subcontinent.