Loss came at the right time for us, says Tendulkar

“I was feeling slightly drained out. I was feeling weak and struggling. I thought rather than throwing my wicket away, I will keep it for later. I didn’t have the strength to hit the ball so I left,” said Tendulkar after his side’s 24-run loss to Super Kings on Tuesday.
“Hopefully, I will be ready for the next game,” he said.

Tendulkar’s departure when on 36 in the ninth over led to a batting collapse and even though he returned to the field later he could not save his side from slumping to their second defeat in nine matches.

“I thought Chennai played better cricket than us and deserved to win.
“Our fielding wasn’t up to the mark, the catching can be better. But it can happen in cricket,” said Tendulkar who made 45.

He said the loss had come at the right time and felt it was a wake-up call. “The loss has come at the right time for us. It’s a wake-up call for us. Nothing to worry, no need to panic. We just need to stay calm,” said the Mumbai captain.

Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was happy that Tendulkar could not do much at his favourite cricket ground.

“The wicket was on the slower side. Just the fear was Tendulkar, he loves this wicket. Good that that the heat got to him. Apart from that we did a good job with the ball,” Dhoni said.

“Two points are important. It’s good to get points against top-ranked team. We will take one game at a time,” said the Indian skipper.