Winning and losing are part of the game, but the way we lost was very disappointing, said Samant

Mumbai coach Samant rues absence of khadoos attitude in the team
Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant

Mumbai are down and out! After seven games, the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions have yet to clinch an outright win and are languishing in 14th position with only 11 points in the combined Group 'A' and 'B' standings. Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant felt the absence of the fabled 'khadoos' attitude resulted in the team's huge loss to Vidarbha yesterday.

"Winning and losing are part of the game, but the way we lost was very disappointing. At least, we should have made them bat in the second innings. We failed to display our khadoos approach when the batsmen needed to show just that and patience," Samant told mid-day over the phone from Nagpur.

"The toss was crucial on this turning track and it made a lot of difference in the end," said Samant. Samant, a former Mumbai and Tripura wicketkeeper-batsman, wanted his team to take a leaf from Wasim Jaffer's book.

"Wasim's knock (178) was a solid one and it only sent us on the back foot. He played like a pro and we are missing a player like him, who takes responsibility and finishes the match. Our batsmen should learn from the way Wasim shouldered responsibility for Vidarbha," Samant added.

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