Johannesburg: Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar admitted that he got out at the wrong time but said his side was "rusty" in their bowling and fielding in the first match of the Championship League.
Mumbai Indians missed many chances and their sloppy fielding helped the Lions pile up a challenging 186 after invited to bat and Tendulkar said they have to work on their weakness before the next match.
"Our bowling and fielding looked rusty today. We need to pull up our socks before the next match. In Durban we need to be charged up. There is not much time, we have to prepare well," Tendulkar said after losing the match by nine runs.
Tendulkar said Mumbai Indians were on the track to chase down the target of 187 but his and Kieron Pollard's wicket made all the difference in the end.
"We probably gave 20 runs extra, all credit to Lions who batted well. They picked wickets too at crucial moments. We were on track. I thought my wicket and Pollard - we got out at the wrong time," he said.
His counterpart Alviro Petersen said it was an overall team effort and their preparation paid off in the end.
"I knew the boys will give 100 per cent, we got good runs on the board, and the bowlers backed it up. We set ourselves 160-170, and towards the end we managed more," he said.
"186 was a winning total, but Sachin batted well and gave us some nerves but the boys did well. We had plans for every batter, and Shane (Burger) did it well to double bluff him," he added.
Man of the Match Jonathan Vandiar, who scored 71 today, said he was under pressure but backed himself to bat through the innings.
"I was under pressure. But I knew I could bat through the innings. We were looking at 180, it was a good wicket and I enjoyed batting on it. First few overs it was holding up, but once you got yourself in, it was good to bat," he said. PTI
