Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar would not have thought that his comments about the pitch that his team played on, on the 29th of April would have caused much of a furore with the local authorities.
Mumbai Indians played the Rajasthan Royals on Friday, and were unfortunately curbed down to a total of 94 for the loss of 8 wickets in the first innings, by some spectacular bowling from the Royals. The match was eventually won by the Royals, but on being asked by Mr. Ravi Shastri during the post match presentation, whether the wicket was “tough”, Sachin said, “It was a two-paced wicket and the ball kept low. The pitch was very different from Mumbai where we had a little more bounce and pace.”
The RCA (Rajasthan Cricket Association) were quite prompt in making an immediate inspection and called in the Venkat Sundram, who is the Chairman of the pitch committee of BCCI, the next day. On invigilating the pitch Sundram did not find anything wrong with it and called it a “lovely track”.
Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne too, was not quite happy with Sachin’s comments and thought that Mumbai were trying to cover up for their loss, where as they should have been accepting that they were completely outplayed.
After the match against Pune Warriors, Warne said, “It is very unfortunate. Mumbai are still not accepting the fact that they were restricted to 94 for eight and that is why they are searching for excuses. They should admit that they were outplayed if they were outplayed.”
He also explains, “A pitch inspector (member of the pitch committee of BCCI) was here and how the wicket can be termed bad when we reached the target losing three wickets. The ball was coming nicely and it was the same wicket on which Kolkata made 160 odd, losing just one wicket.”
Sachin’s comment has also angered RCA secretary Mr. Sanjay Dixit, who was quite vociferous in his criticism for the Mumbai team. He calls the Mumbai team to be the most “graceless” side in the Ranji circuit and were “showing off their pedigree in IPL too.”
Mr. Dixit also posted on twitter that he would love to see Mumbai lose in their own backyard. He further commented, “Would love to see Mumbai beaten in Mumbai. What happens to them after Malinga leaves. “Malinga is the only one who doesn’t need to complain about pitches, unlike some others.”
The Mumbai Indians on the other hand have maintained that the comments coming from Warne and the others were quite uncalled for. One can just hope that the two sides get back to their work as quickly as possible, as there still remain a number of matches to be played and won.
Tags: BCCI, IPL, Mumbai Indians, Pitch, Rajasthan Cricket Association, Rajasthan Royals, RCA, Sachin Tendulkar
