IPL 2017 – Gautam Gambhir Takes Blame For Loss
May 10, 2017 at 12:01 AM
While an extravagant Chris Lynn rocked his way to 84 off 52 deliveries, the rest of the Kolkata Knight Riders was so dismal, that the entire team barring Chris Lynn could only manage a paltry 69 off 68 deliveries. Such was the embarrassment which the Knight Riders had to face against the side that has traditionally been quite weak against them. The loss for the visitors at Mohali means that the tournament is still wide open and the Punjabis still stand a decent chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
The most worrying aspect for Knight Riders fans comes in the form of the sluggish display of Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan. The four senior batsmen could only manage to score a sorry 28 while eating up 46 deliveries.
Post the loss, skipper Gautam Gambhir took the blame upon himself for the dismal batting performance.
“I thought we started off really well. I thought me and Robin getting out was the turning point. Credit to Kings XI, they hung in there and never gave us easy runs. I thought the dot balls made a lot of difference,” said a disappointed Gambhir.
Gambhir also mentioned that he could soon move up to the opening slot if needed and Robin Uthappa could come in at number 3. It makes sense, as Gautam Gambhir as an opener is at his supreme best.
“Obviously you want to be smart, you could say I could have opened and Robin could have come in at 3. But we thought Sunil has been hitting the ball well. Maybe we could think of that combination in the coming games. At one stage, we needed 7.5 or 8 an over, taking it to 10 or 11 was the turning point,” said Gambhir.