Winning and losing is a part of the game but sometimes the loss is so humiliating that it makes a lasting impression on the team. Gujarat Lions’ first game of this season was something similar. After being invited to bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders, the table-toppers of last year, led by their skipper Suresh Raina’s unbeaten half-century, posted an imposing total of 183. However, the score proved too little in the end as Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir ran riot in Rajkot and shared a record partnership of 184 runs to help the two-time Indian Premier League champions start the tournament with a bang.
The visitors chased down the total in less than 15 overs with Lynn blasting 93 off 41 balls, including six fours and eight sixes while Gambhir chipped in with 76 off 48 balls. It was the highest total chased down by a team keeping all 10 wickets intact.
Speaking after the match, GL wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who scored 47 off only 25 balls, expressed his surprise over the loss but at the same time heaped praise on the KKR openers.
Excerpts from his interview:
On the loss:
“Everything went wrong in the second half. I don’t think we were up to the mark. Gambhir and Lynn batted beautifully. Though I do feel that 183 was a touch above par.The scoreline does not justify the wicket. Both of them batted exceptionally well. Some of the shots they played were mind-boggling. But I still feel we could have bowled a little better.“
On the ‘Lynn’ surprise:
“It would have been surprising if it was the seventh-eighth match in the tournament. It was the first match of the tournament so you do not know what they are going to do. So it was not really surprising. What was surprising was the manner in which we lost.
On bouncing back quickly:
“IPL is about getting ready after setbacks and with less time. You can’t keep thinking about the game that went by. We go to Hyderabad next and start fresh and put out best foot forward. IPL is such a tournament where you can’t be in your past.”
On missing Jadeja and Bravo:
“Jadeja and Bravo are irreplaceable cricketers. I mean they’re quality cricketers and if they were there they would have surely made a difference. However, the team that was out there in the park was also a very good team. Credit to Gautam and Lynn, they batted really well. And you got to give credit where it’s due and they played really well.”
On whether the bowlers bowled poorly:
It wouldn’t be right to say that our bowlers bowled poorly. They were hitting sixes at will even on good deliveries. So when you get hammered even after bowling a good ball, it gets extremely difficult to bowl the next one. You need to think of what changes you can make to your line and length. So it’s very harsh to say that the bowling line wasn’t right but yes, we could have bowled better. But you’ve got to give credit to them. They’ve played brilliant cricket.”