The Mumbai captain has expressed his concern that the two legends of the game are not cutting it at the top of the order.
Mumbai Indians skipper Ricky Ponting believes that he and Sachin Tendulkar are letting down the franchise with their batting performances.
The two highest scorers in Test history open for Mumbai but have failed to impress so far in the sixth edition of the IPL, as the side scored just 92 runs in their hefty 87-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.
In three of their five matches so far in 2013 either Ponting or Tendulkar have been out in the first over and the Australian has scored 52 runs in five innings, whilst the ‘Little Master’ hasn’t fared much better with 69.
In the match against Rajasthan the Indian was out from the fourth ball of the day, while Mumbai’s captain only made it to the third over and he is clearly not happy with the way things are going at the top of the order.
“The two guys at the top of the order haven’t done the job required of them by the team,” the former Aussie skipper said on ESPNcricinfo.
“We are five games into the tournament; both of us need to play better.”
Between the duo they have amassed nearly 30,000 Test runs, an almost unbelievable total for just two cricketers, but they seem to be struggling to convert this form to the twenty-over format.
Despite defeat to Rajasthan, Ponting’s side are still fourth in the IPL table and could easily make a march on the top spot in the coming weeks if their openers find the form that has earned them so much respect in the game.
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