Furious India captain Sourav Ganguly launched a blistering attack on his misfiring batsmen after his side were knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy by bitter rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
India struggled to 200 all out with only Rahul Dravid (67) and Ajit Agarkar (47), with a stand of 82 in 83 balls, giving his side's bowlers had a target to defend.
Pakistan went on to win by three wickets.
At one stage they had been 73-5 after Virender Sehwag was out for 10, VVS Laxman for three, Mohamed Kaif, 27, and Yuvraj Singh, 0.
"It was a good wicket and we just didn't bat well enough," said Ganguly who also failed with the bat after being dismissed for nought.
"There are some guys in the team who are failing for too long and when the main batsmen in the team keep failing the batting loses momentum," insisted Ganguly in a thinly veiled reference to the out-of-form Sehwag and Yuvraj.
"I think the bowlers bowled very well," added the captain after seeing an attack led by left-arm quick and ICC Emerging Player of the Year Irfan Pathan (three for 34) almost pull off a stunning victory Ganguly has made a point of being publicly loyal to his team but he said Sunday: "Nobody's place is for life. You have to keep on performing in international cricket."