Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting said Chris Gayle's hard-hitting unbeaten knock of 92made all the difference in their "topsy-turvy" two-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match in Bangalore.
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"All our bowlers tried to bowl at him in different areas, bowl at his toes and wide outside the off-stump. (But) being as strong as he is if anybody gets half the bat on, it does go for six," Ponting said.
"Though he was limping most of his innings, he made the difference in the game. There is no doubt about it," he said.
Asked whether it was a wrong decision not to send the hard-hitting Kieron Pollard up the order, Ponting said the team would talk about it and make adjustments if needed for the next game.
The former Australian captain said the failure of first-choice number five batsman Amabti Rayudu cost the match for Mumbai.
Ponting said his team did a good job with the ball but should have chased the target down.
"We did not get going at the start and it was a topsy-turvy game," he said.
"Mumbai need to analyse their game and set right the wrongs in coming games," Ponting said.
Photograph: BCCI
