Supergiant captain Steve Smith rues missed chances
[caption id="attachment_43049" align="aligncenter" width="580"]
Gautam scored 62 runs against Rising Pune Supergiant on Wednesday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption]Internet Desk: It was a magical batting display from Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, a totally clinical performance to put the Knight Riders on top of the IPL points table. The Supergiant has let themselves down in the field with some dropped chances but nothing can be taken away from the clinical performance from KKR.
Knight Rider’s Gautam Gambhir produced yet another captain’s performance for his side. The KKR captain is on a role at the moment as he became the first batsman in IPL 10 to reach the 300 runs mark, one more than Hashim Amla.
The Knight Rider’s captain looked relaxed after the win. Gambhir seemed extremely satisfied with the fact that the Knights chased down the total without any panic.
"I thought we are a good chasing side and we showed that again. It was a very good effort and a lot of credit needs to go for the bowlers.”
On being asked about his own performance, the KKR captain said, “It is always good to keep contributing but it is all about how many matches you win, you want the team to be doing well just as much."
The Knight Riders were without Nathan Coulter Nile, their star performer in last match against RCB. Gambhir also credited his bowlers for restricting the RPS to less than 200 runs.
“It was a very good effort from the bowlers to restrict them under 200 runs. As far as Nathan Coulter Nile is concerned, we got a very hectic schedule and so we wanted to ensure that he remains fit for our remaining matches.”
Losing Rising Pune Supergiant captain Steve Smith blamed the missed opportunities along with the dew factor.
According to Smith, "The dew came in and it was difficult for the spinners, the wicket sped up and it became a lovely wicket to bat on. Robbie and Gautam paced their innings brilliantly, it wasn't our night tonight. Our dropped catches let us down tonight; it is something that we have to change. Hopefully we can turn it around and start taking out catches."
Man of the Match Robin Uthappa gave credit to his change in technique for the turnaround as the batsman from Bangalore is looking a lot more assured at the crease. Uthappa scored a brilliant 87 runs off only 47 balls to take the Knights home tonight.
According to Uthappa, “I am happy that I settled down with the change in technique. It is very important for us to carry on the momentum. It is something that we discussed in the team meetings. Our priority is to assure ourselves a Top 2 finish and qualifying for the Play-Offs.”
The Knight Riders will be travelling back to Kolkata tonight as they have a match on Friday coming up against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens.
0 comments:
Post a Comment