Team India sad over Tendulkar jinx: Dhoni

Gwalior, Nov 16 (UNI) India clinched the ODI series against Pakistan by winning the third one-dayer here but the team was sad over Sachin Tendulkar's repeated failure to convert nineties to hundreds, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

Tendulkar missed out yet another chance to score a hundred while on nervous nineties for the sixth time in less than five months.

He was out on 97 in the 30th over to the dismay of the capacity crowd, inside-edging an Umar Gul delivery to the stumps while playing away from the body.

Since June 26, Tendulkar could not notch up his 42nd ODI hundred on nervous nineties six times twice against South Africa in Ireland (at 99 and 93), two against England (at 99 and 94) and twice in this series (99 at Mohali and 97 yesterday). His last century was on January 31 at Vadodara against West Indies.

''It is very sad, the team is very sad. He has failed to covert the nineties to hundreds on so many times. God knows when will he score a hundred. I hope he scores it soon,'' Dhoni said at the post-match press conference last night.

''Nothing more can be said of his batting. He has played so long in international cricket and has helped us out. Many players retire even without scoring a hundred and he has scored so many runs, it is amazing,'' he added when asked why Tendulkar could not overcome the jinx of nervous nineties.

A modest Tendulkar, meanwhile, said it did not really matter whether he scored a century or not if the team was winning.

''It has become a habit to get out in the nineties recently, but is part and parcel of the game. I would want to score a hundred but it does not really matter if I miss out if the team is winning,'' said the man-of-the-match Tendulkar at the post-match presentation ceremony.

UNI