"We had a disappointing season... Simple," said Mumbai captain Amol Muzumdar as he started explaining his team's exit from the Ranji Trophy.
"It is a collective failure. We haven't delivered in all the three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - despite being in such a strong position, we lost control," he added.
The disappointment in the skipper's tone was palpable. And there was a valid reason behind it. His team had only flattered to deceive.
Considered as one of the favourites, Mumbai put up a lackluster performance and failed to make it even to the last four stage, forget the title defence.
Flashback to the 2006-07 season. Mumbai had dropped points in its first three games - two draws against Bengal and Punjab and a loss at Hyderabad. With their backs against the wall, Praveen Amre's men came back impressively with three straight wins - against Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra - to finish second in their group and went on to win a record 37th title in the country's premier competition.
A year later, the defending champions found themselves in a similar situation. Only the result was different. Just two wins - away at Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan - and more importantly, four draws (three on their home turf) - against Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh - had put Mumbai in a must-win situation against Saurashtra.
Alas, Mumbai fumbled on this occasion. And harsh though it may sound, it was a bad fumble.
"We couldn't bowl Himachal out in two days despite making them follow on," explained Amol.
"Against Maharashtra also we lost two points. Had we got those results this match would have been inconsequential." The Mumbai captain was more forthcoming as regards to the problems that hounded his side this season.
"Last year we reacted when our backs were pushed to the wall. But this year, we didn't play well in pressure situations," admitted Amol.
The 32-year-old had hinted a day earlier that he wasn't exactly happy with the nature of the wicket and had promised to give an honest answer after the proceedings got over. But the explanation never came.
"I won't point fingers at anybody but the home advantage should have been taken. The wicket said it all," he reiterated.
As Amol became a tad uncomfortable on being prodded further on the topic, coach Praveen Amre chipped in to his defence.
"Our strength is spin. Since we wanted an outright win, the idea was to get them out in a day, put up a decent score and then expose them to our spinners," said Amre. But both the captain and the coach, having made to swallow a bitter pill now have a clear idea of what to do next.
"I think introspection is more important than changes in the team," opined Amol. "We need to sit and analyse things, rethink and come back with a strong plan for the next season."
