There was no pressure: Smith

Dwayne Smith hammered a 38-ball 59 and along with Sachin Tendulkar put together a splendid 90 run opening wicket stand which laid the foundation for the Mumbai chase. When asked whether he faced any pressure coming into the match locking horns with fellow team mates from the Caribbean, Smith said, "I am from Barbados and not T&T. There was no pressure I just wanted to give a good start. The wicket became slow after the first six overs." Smith praised the bowling changes introduced by skipper, Rohit Sharma after Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo had threatened to take the match away from Mumbai. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pragyan Ojha and Kieron Pollard picked up wickets at crucial moments and maintained a tight leash on the batsmen. Smith also hailed the efforts of Trinidad and Tobago who had shown a great spirit and the will to compete throughout the tournament. "The skipper did well to make some good changes to restrict them. The last game helped us a lot. They are a good side and are performing well against some of the international teams," stated Smith, who was presented with the man of the match award at the post-match presentation ceremony. Sachin Tendulkar, who played the perfect support role in the partnership with Smith and himself scored a 31-ball 35 stated that he was not aware that he had surpassed 50,000 runs in all forms of competitive cricket (First-Class, List A and Twenty 20). "Wasn't aware that I was close to 50000 runs. Feels good to win today." He praised the effort of the Mumbai bowlers who did a remarkable job in restricting the Trinidad and Tobago batsmen in the middle and death overs. Sachin also complimented the innings played by Dwayne Smith at the start. "Bowlers did well to restrict them and Smith gave us a good start. It is fun to watch Smith as he plays some attacking cricket. It was basically a slow wicket and was totally different as compared to Rajasthan," said Sachin. Sachin did not want to comment on his team's chances in the final "I would not say that we are peaking at the right time as I am a little superstitious and there is still one more game to win so looking forward to it." He also had a word of encouragement for Trinidad and Tobago. "T&T are a dangerous side and they play this format really well, one good thing is that Pollard and Smith are playing for us." A relieved and pleased skipper of Mumbai, Rohit Sharma said that his team's success was a result of hardwork put in by all the team members. He praised his bowlers for pegging the opposition batsmen back. "We have worked really hard to get where we are today. It was a tough game and it was nice to win it. They started off really well and the bowlers did well to restrict them." Rohit added that the partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith laid the base for their chase making it easier for the batsmen to follow. He further stated that he believed that his side had an advantage over Rajasthan in the final as they were familiar with the pitch and the conditions having played a couple of matches at the Kotla. "Smith and Sachin gave us a good start and it helped the lower order. We have a slight edge as we know the conditions better than Rajasthan. The toss does not matter much as the wicket remains the same. It is a wonderful opportunity for all the guys to come back tomorrow and play the finals." Denesh Ramdin, the captain of the Trinidad and Tobago team stated that they fell short by 15 runs. He said that Evin Lewis gave them a great start (Lewis hammered 62 off just 46 balls) and they should have capitalized on that and got to a score nearer to 170. He added that Lewis was a find and someone to look out for in the future. "We were short by around 15 runs. Lewis was good at the top and it was a 170 pitch. Lewis was good and is one to watch out for." Ramdin was disappointed with the effort of his bowlers and felt that they were guilty of bowling a touch too full. He added that the opening stand between Sachin and Smith took the game away from them. "We did not get as many runs in the end as we would have wanted. We bowled a lot of full deliveries. Smith and Sachin got them off to a good start."