IPL 2017: “It Was Important For Me To Keep Calm At The Moment When Wickets Were Falling,” Says GL Captain Suresh Raina
Apr 22, 2017 at 12:17 AM
Gujarat Lions sealed an emphatic win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden gardens, the fortress of the Gautam Gambhir-led side. Batting line-up led by Suresh Raina edged past the target with 10 balls to spare.
Visitors tinkered with the batting line-up, as Aaron Finch was promoted to open the innings with an underperforming Dwayne Smith being pulled down in the batting order.
Just like their opponents, Gujarat Lions too had a great start, as the new opening pair of Brendon McCullum and Finch shared 42 runs for the first wicket in just 3.3 overs. The partnership was broken by Nathan Coulter-Nile but had no impact on the chase, as skipper Raina led from the front.
He shared low partnerships with other batsmen and was a standout performer in each and every partnership. He did not let the game slip from the hands of Gujarat and made the best use of the batting friendly pitch. He played a match winning innings of 84 off just 46 balls and only left the crease after putting his team on brink of a win.
With this win, Gujarat has registered their second win in the tournament to hand KKR their second loss.
Here is what Gujarat Lions skipper and Man of the Match Suresh Raina said after the match –
Suresh Raina:
“It was an important game for us, do or die I would say. Wicket was pretty good, and we really bowled well towards the end. We came back strongly. We kept losing wickets in the middle and I thought I had to stay till the end. Kept telling myself, look to be positive. No need to play cross-batted shots. It was a good team effort today. We got Uthappa at a crucial time, PK bowled very well with back to back Yorkers. Basil is a really good prospect, he’s been very consistent with his yorkers. Faulkner also did well to get Gambhir. He was looking very good. I was very calm at the wicket. I knew I had to stick till the end. I like to chase always. If you look at the last two years in the IPL, every team batting second has been in a very comfortable position. Batting looks really good. We can improve our bowling. We’ve been giving a lot of runs in the first six overs. It’s been good (his form). Been batting well and just need to continue with that.”