Chris Gayle on his way to scoring 49 runs off 31 balls at Eden Gardens. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption]Kolkata: Chris Gayle saw his record being broken by none other than Virat Kohli.Kohli during his unbeaten 75-run knock against KKR on Monday, surpassed Chris Gayle’s 733-run mark to create a new record of most runs in a single season. Gayle scored 733 runs for RCB in 15 matches during the 2012 edition and Kohli has moved to 752 in the ongoing edition off only 12 games. The big Jamaican rated Kohli as Batman and AB as Superman. He also applauded Kohli’s batsman ship and thanked the fans for their continuous support. Gayle, who came good scoring his highest run in IPL this season was in a jovial mood during his post match press conference. Here are the excerpts.
Do you have a special liking for Eden Gardens?
Ha ha ha , Yeah I do like playing cricket here. It was once my home ground and also won the T20 World Cup here. It has been a fantastic ground for me. It’s a place where you can call it a hunting ground. I am happy to be back amongst the runs.
How do you describe the batting of your team mates Kohli and AB?
Those two guys are playing like Batman and Superman. They are in the form of their lives.Specially Kohli as well. Those guys should have continued pressing gas, don’t ease up . They are doing a phenomenal job for RCB and it’s fantastic. Kohli leading from the front is even better. It’s a great team effort. Hopefully they can continue and put us in winning ways.
Kohli has broken your record of scoring the most runs in an IPL season. Do you think Kohli is raising the bar of batting in T20 cricket?
I must congratulate him for breaking my record. With two more games he score 900 runs and may be close to 1000 runs. The way he go about it, it’s always about determination. He is a person who is never satisfied. He always wants to better his last performance and keep building that especially when you are in good form. It’s not always about power hitting but his shot selection. Running between the wickets, throwing himself on the field. He is a complete cricketer.
Chris, such is the expectation of you that if you don’t score those runs a lot of questions being asked. What kind of confidence do you get from your teammates when you don’t score those special innings?
Its cricket and we all as players know we are human. We have to back the players who are not getting the actual performance. It is basic stuff, you keep it simple at team meetings, the captain express himself , play fearless cricket. Even though you might be a big player, still sometimes you need a reminder how good you are. It’s up and down in cricket and it’s all about life as well. I am happier for fans as well rather than Chris Gayle scoring those runs.
Do you say the pitch did not assist the spinners as much your opponents hoped as they had someone like Sunil Narine?
Pitch did not assist the spinners as much as possible; the new ball did not get enough swing as well. It was a good batting wicket. It wasn’t a huge turn. Good wicket. 180 was always chase able in this sort of wicket.
Were you pleasantly surprised to see the kind of support you got today. There was a point of time when it felt like you were playing in Bangalore?
I am not surprised at all because wherever we travel we seem to have a huge fan base. They love to see the sixes and fours. We always get the same support as we get in Bangalore . India does love entertainment.
Despite today’s win you still need to win the remaining two to qualify for the play offs. Do you think you still have a chance?
Insallah, hopefully this win will help us give the confidence to win the remaining two matches. We just have to come out and keep firing. If we do get a sniff in the play offs its going to be danger for other teams.
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