Meg Lanning has heaped the blame on herself for not being able to keep her remarkable winning streak going with the Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League.
Australia's captain has been one of the individual stand-outs so far in the groundbreaking Indian tournament and another innings of 43 against Mumbai Indians on Thursday only increased her lead as the top run-scorer in the competition.
But scolding herself for scoring too slowly, Lanning believed her sluggishness while opening the batting for Delhi set the tone for their miserable day as they lost their unbeaten record to league leaders Mumbai in a comprehensive eight-wicket loss.
It meant the end of a brilliant run of success for the 30-year-old known throughout the game as 'the megastar' as Lanning finally lost after eight straight victories over the past month which had included her leading her country to the T20 World Cup title again in South Africa.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Lanning, who had scored a quickfire 72 and 70 in Delhi's first two wins, couldn't find the same rhythm at the start of the innings as wickets tumbled around her.
Much rested on her as she struggled to 43 off 41 balls, including five fours, but then effectively ruined all the hard work by slapping a half-volley off Saika Ishaque straight to India's captain Harmanpreet Kaur at extra cover.
Delhi went on to collapse to 105 all out, leaving Mumbai to ease their way to a third straight victory on 2-109 with five overs to spare.
"Unfortunately, at the back end of the innings, we couldn't put the partnerships together - and I'll take a lot of blame for that," said Lanning at the post-match presentation.
"I took up some balls early and then got out at the crucial time, which was disappointing. We needed a set batter to see us through to the back end and that was the difference really.
"There's lots of things to work on ... sometimes, it doesn't go your way."
Having compiled 185 runs so far, though - 29 more than the next best, Mumbai's West Indian star Hayley Matthews - Lanning gets to wear the 'orange cap', the prize for the tournament's leading scorer.
But asked whether she felt orange suited her, Lanning sounded a mite embarrassed as she smiled: "I feel a bit silly wearing it to be honest with you..."
