Mumbai: Stand-in-skipper Mahela Jayawardene admitted that his side’s old failings cost them the game against Mumbai Indians. Here's more from the media interaction.
Excerpts
On the loss: I was hoping that you guys might give me some ideas. I don’t know. I think we, like I’ve said about Twenty20, you make a few too many mistakes and it’s really difficult for a team to come back. Even though we didn’t have such a great start we were going great and I knew the wicket was a bit slow. We were on course to get 170-175. I thought we lost our way a bit in the middle and didn’t get to where we [wanted to] but I thought that’s always a par score. If we get early wickets then we can create some opportunities, which we did. I thought the guys bowled really well, I assessed the conditions and did what needed to be done, but when we came to that crunch few overs I thought, you know, we lost our way, just a little bit of lack of concentration, [a] few loose balls to give away those runs.
On it being a bad fielding effort by his side: Well, to be fair, you know, this is probably one of the fastest outfields and both teams did struggle to field on this. With the dew it was skidding through [and] I thought our guys gave everything they’ve got. Yes there are a few guys in the team who are not [on a] par with everybody else so we just need to create opportunities. I thought we trapped all the opportunities that came our way, the catches were taken, but, yes, a few misfields [happened] in crucial moments. That’s what I said, when you make a few mistakes, [it is] very difficult for a side to come back in a Twenty20 game because there is not enough time.
On not doing the basics right: Well, I never said that we don’t have the balance. I think we have some great players and the last two IPLs we were in the semi-finals and [just] missed out with the same bunch of players and we have probably strengthened the squad with some of the local talent. It’s just that in crucial moments we are not finishing games off. When we are on top [it is about] not losing wickets in the middle and in not giving those targets and bowling in those last few overs without panicking. I think we were so close in so many games. I am not giving excuses, I am saying actual facts. When you make mistakes it’s difficult for us to come back and everyone realises and every game we cannot pinpoint and say this is the mistake we are making, but we are making some or other few mistakes more than the other team. We are not good enough to win a match - we are coming really close - but Twenty20 is like this, you need to get that momentum, that confidence, and go for it and we haven’t done it.
On the difference Lasith Malinga made for MI: Definitely, I think rather than talking about the way we played, there were a few good performances from Mumbai Indians as well. I think Lasith came and picked up wickets - that’s crucial in Twenty20 cricket and I thought Sachin used him in a way in the middle [of the innings] that he could come in and pick up wickets and we had a discussion and we knew some of the guys haven’t played Lasith. The important thing is [to get] bat on ball, just rotate the strike. But he is one of those guys, [his] quality is there to do something like that and that’s probably where we lost our way. But still I thought we got those boundaries, crucial boundaries, and got to a score we thought we could defend and I think today we gave everything we had on the field. But unfortunately the last couple of overs, you know, were very crucial for us not to give away those easy boundaries and sixes.
On the difficulty of completing 20 overs in the given time: Am I out as well after this? (Laughter), No, I think, just imagine, like, we are given, what, probably four minutes an over and they are crucial matches, as you know. The first six overs are very crucial - you need time to think about when the batsmen are going at you and probably the middle overs you can run around and get it through but then again the last few overs. It’s very tough, we are on a borderline and I think, hopefully, we will get, you know, maybe another 5-6 minutes added to a T20 game and I think it will be beneficial for everybody because the art of captaincy, as well, in Twenty20 cricket is really good. Tactically, then, you have a bit more time to think about the creation of opportunities. So, you know, that’s something for us to think about for the future. Yeah, definitely.
On making it to the semis: We haven’t given up, I think it’s still an open tournament, we need to believe in ourselves that we can get there. There is no point us turning up thinking that we are not going to be in the semi-finals. As professionals I don’t think that is the right attitude to have.
On Yuvraj Singh: Yuvi, I think, you know, he has been hitting the ball pretty well - it’s just that he needs to spend more time out there. I think we have tried to get him out there in the middle as quickly as possible, in certain matches, so that he could spend some time and in some other games the way he was batting is brilliant. It’s just that he is going through a bit of a tough period, he came back from an injury and he is one of those guys, you know, once he gets into rhythm he could win matches for us. We strongly believe that he can do that and we have a lot of trust in him. I mean, he is one of your best players in the [India] side and you want him to be in top form and taking control but, unfortunately, he is going through a bit of a period and we have to respect that.
On whether the players’ auction cap should be increased for next year: (Smiles) After a match like this it is really tough to think about numbers. But I honestly haven’t thought about it, just read a few [stories] in the newspapers, but I think it’s good to have two new teams and its good IPL is going strong and we are really enjoying our cricket. The last three years everybody has made some really good decisions about the IPL and I’m sure everyone will come up with the same thing and I’m not in that kind of role right now so seriously, thanks.
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