Agarkar rues dropped catches after drawn game

Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar rued the dropped catches in the first innings and said it was the turning point of the match.

"The turning point was dropping a few too many catches on the first day. If you let a side score 580, it's never easy chasing it. Ideally we would not have like to concede 580. The bowlers keep getting tired and you need to make them stay a bit more. We lost too many (wickets) in the morning, which made it difficult," he told reporters after the match. He also expressed his disappointment with the pitch and said "we didn't expect it to be one-inning game".

'Playing at home you expect a little bit more from the pitch. I don't want to talk too much about the pitch but over a thousand runs were scored."

He praised left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan for his nine wickets and hoped the bowler would get recognition. Chavan's performance set the stage for Mumbai, who looked to chase a tough target set by Punjab. "Anyday 150 in 10 overs was going to be difficult but with Rohit's talent if you get 25 runs in a couple of overs, he did get one (24 runs in an over), then the pressure sets in and bowlers bowl a few bad balls.

"At least 15-16 overs or 120 runs in 11 overs would have made it interesting. It was because of Ankit's exceptional bowling otherwise it was heading for a tame draw.

"I hope this performance gets noticed. It was a real good spell of bowling. It wasn't poor shots or bad batting. To get 9 wickets in any form of cricket is exceptional. He has got the talent to get wickets, that is why he is playing for us." Mumbai needs one outright win to keep their hopes alives for qualification in quarters. Mumbai has played five games so far and are yet to register an outright win. Meanwhile, Punjab pacer Manpreet Gony, who scalped five wickets, also praised the young bowler and said his side was clueless. "We didn't know what was happening because he was bowling well. We didn't know what to do. People were playing some shots and the shots were not controlled," Gony said.

... contd.

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