Records tumbled in all possible ways as it was complete chaos at Rajkot thanks to the brute force of Chris Lynn.
Lynn along with Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir scripted a massive thrashing of the Gujarat Lions, as the duo went on to register the highest ever the first-wicket stand in IPL history. The two were clinical, classy yet so destructive in their approach, that the target of 184 was chased down with a little over five overs to spare.
Earlier, when the hosts got to 183-4 with skipper Suresh Raina notching up a half-century, one would have expected a thrilling contest. Chris Lynn though came with a fresh and dynamic approach in the middle, as he muscled any delivery pitched in his ark.
His unbeaten knock of 93 off just 41 deliveries included eight perfectly timed sixes. Gautam Gambhir too played an excellent hand of 76 off 48 balls.
Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir reiterated that Chris Lynn made his task far easier.
“You can’t ask for more. The way Lynn started took a lot of pressure off me. Credit to the bowlers too. To restrict a batting lineup like Gujarat under 200 was fabulous. It’s a luxury for any captain to have such spinners. As I said, we all know what Lynn can do. We have to give him a longer run. Hopefully he can continue his form like this and keep smacking it.”
“We need to be proactive. There’s always room for improvement. Lynn can take on any fast bowlers and we don’t want him to take any risks against spinners. Rest of us can do that. That’s basically our game plan. It’s about starting off well because you don’t want to be under pressure in the business end. Just one day to recover now before a big game against Mumbai,” said Gambhir.
Chris Lynn was the straightforward choice for the Man of the Match, and the Queenslander was eager to carry on the good work.
“That was my role and I’m comfortable with my role. One good innings doesn’t make a summer. Hopefully I keep it going. If I can continue this momentum, I’d be very pleased. Yes I think so (opening), with the ball coming on. I’m happy just to rotate the strike to Gauti when the spinners are on. Really nice wicket. All the grounds now are producing good flat wickets for the batters.”
Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina meanwhile rued the absence of star spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the middle.
“180 was a good total. We didn’t bowl well in the first six overs. The lack of experience showed in our bowling. I thought the wicket would get slow, but it remained the same. The bowlers need to learn from here if we have to win. Definitely we miss Jadeja. He’s the number one bowler in the world.”