Mumbai, Feb 26: Mumbai won the first three of their West Zone one-dayers in similar fashion: last-over finishes with valuable contributions from the lower order. Opener Sushant Marathe shouldered most of the responsibility in the first game, veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer in the second and debutant Shoaib Shaikh in the third. However, Mumbai were unable to pull through in their fourth outing, against Maharasthra, falling short by 15 runs and with an over-and-a-half to spare.

Mumbai skipper Ajit Agarkar spoke about the team’s strengths and weakness in the post-match interaction with the media.

Excerpts:

On the wicket

Today and yesterday, both [days the wicket was good]. After the first two games I think the wicket really settled down. […] 270 -275 is actually a par score if you bat well. We need to bat well upfront.

On losing the game despite Iqbal Abdulla and Ankit Chavan looking like they would help the team reach the target

You can’t expect the lower-order to get 150 runs. We were a lucky a little bit yesterday when Dhawal [Kulkarni] played a couple of big shots but then Shoaib [Shaikh] was there. We at least had one batsman batting through [the innings yesterday]. But today the top five were out early for 110-odd runs, I think. You can’t expect the lower-order to keep getting over 100 runs every game and we did that twice. Given the experience we have up the order, they [are expected] to give us a good start; that’s been a problem in this tournament. The first couple of games the wicket has been a little helpful for the bowlers but the last couple of games we should have batted a bit better.

On what the team can do to improve before the knockouts

There is an [Ajinkya] Rahane, there is a [Wasim] Jaffer and there is an [Abhishek] Nayar [in the team]. All three guys have played for India, each one knows his game quite well. Sometimes it is up to the individual to work out his own game; sometimes it is the shot selection and sometimes it is a good ball. I think Ajinkya has not been batting really badly, he has just been getting out. He was tracking the ball pretty well and hasn’t played a lot of cricket in the last two months [as] he has been with the Indian team. We have got a week in between and some of the guys are going with their companies to play the Oil Shield; maybe they’ll get a few good innings there. The rest of us will be practicing.

On whether the top-order’s batting was a concern

For sure. On good decks you want your top-order to cash in. We had a good opportunity yesterday and today to have some good form going. Shoaib Shaikh played well yesterday but other than that [there weren’t many performances]. We would like the top-order to get more runs. We keep getting over the line each time without much of a worry but like today, sometimes things don’t go your way. At times you need the top-order [to be there], especially when it is a good wicket. We have got the longest batting line-up where all of us towards the bottom can chip in, but you still need big performance from one of the top four.

On not being able to build the pressure after getting early wickets

[...] Yes, we have got to practice some skills. Need to practice some death bowling, all of us really. In the first couple of games we were not under so much pressure to bowl in the death. I haven’t bowled that many yorkers in the last couple of months, so I need to get some net practice. The game has changed a little bit. With two new balls, the ball doesn’t get as old as it used to. It is pretty hard at the end so sometimes when you have two batsmen who are set, it is not easy for the bowler to bowl towards the end [because] both the balls are pretty hard and new. The ball doesn’t really reverse. Whatever little reverse swing you used to get [you can’t get now as] the ball doesn’t get that soft. That’s why you need to be a bit more precise than we have been in the last couple of games with our skills towards the end.

On what Maharashtra did right to win the game

Today we played badly, that is why they won. Not to take any credit away from them but we could learn a lot from the way they have fielded. That probably made the difference in the end, those 10-15 runs; and also we dropped a few crucial catches today. In the last few years, we haven’t played them in Ranji Trophy but we have played them in Twenty20 and one-day cricket [and] they have been doing fairly well. They field really well, that really strikes you as a positive. When you play the shorter format, it really helps when your outfielding is good. Apart from that, I haven’t really played much against them in the last few years but they have obviously got a few promising players who have been doing well, that’s why they are back in the top group.

On Ankeet Bawne being dropped on eight when Maharashtra were 31 for the loss of two wickets

That was a crucial catch. He was the one who got the runs and that stage when the ball is new, you can probably get another wicket [and] a new batter comes in. We have got to improve [on] that. We will be working hard on the catching, for sure. I don’t think our [work in the] outfield is too bad.