Kolkata, Apr 29 (DHNS): West Indian marauder and Royal Challengers Bangalore lynchpin Chris Gayle sported a morose look following his team’s47-run loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders. He said it was a difficult match for the Bangalore outfit.
“What can I say? They beat us. And losing is a very tough thing for me,” said Gayle during a press conference at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. “(Gautam) Gambhir batted very well and Brendon (McCullum) too did well. It was always going to be tough for us after they put on 190 on the board,” he said.
Gambhir and opener McCullum put on 95 for the opening stand, helping Kolkata to a mammoth 190 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, RCB’s batsmen, barring Gayle, failed to put their hands up and be counted, finishing their innings at 143 for six.
“160, 170 was a gettable target. But 190 was hard and especially given that the wicket was worn down after KKR’s innings. I tried to stitch a partnership with (Saurabh) Tiwary but that too ended. We lost too many wickets early on and it was hard to recover after that,” said the Jamaican.
KKR skipper Gambhir praised his team-mates for the performance and defended Yusuf Pathan's form. “We all played a very good game. And I do not think this was our best performance. I think our best is still to come. Brendon (McCullum) and (Jacques) Kallis put on a wonderful show today. If it wasn’t for Brendon, things would have been very different,” said Gambhir.
“Yusuf did extraordinarily well today. He bowled four overs and gave away nothing while Gayle was batting. So that was the turning point. I just hope he puts that luck into his batting now. (Sunil) Narine too did great with the ball,” said the left-hander.