Kolkata Knight Riders were stunned by Gujarat Lions on Friday at Eden Gardens as they suffered only their second loss in this edition of the Indian Premier League. Kolkata were beaten by four wickets as Gujarat chased down the target of 187 with ease. However, skipper Suresh Raina said the team needs to work on its bowling department, which lacks experience.
Raina led from the front with a splendid knock of 84. Chasing 188 runs after opting to bowl, Gujarat Lions were off to flying start thanks to Aaron Finch (31 off 15 balls) and Brendon McCullum (33 off 17), who notched up a quick-fire 42-run opening stand. However, it was Raina’s knock that made the difference, an innings influenced by a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“I love batting in pressure situations and it is a challenge I relish. I have batted with him (MS Dhoni) for almost ten years now and always admired how he would finish games for the side” Raina told iplt20.com.
“I have learnt how to cut down on asking rates from 9 per over to 7 per over from him. The middle overs in a T20 game is very important and you need to take calculated risks. It is something that I did tonight and have learnt over the years. I was hitting the ball really well and looked to be positive throughout my innings though wickets were falling at the other end. When you are a captain, you are there to win a game and set examples for your side. It is something that I have learnt from Dhoni while playing with him for India and Chennai Super Kings,” he added.
Raina also said that his bowlers did an amazing job to restrict Kolkata to 187, who were looking to get a score in the excess of 200. “It was an important game for us and we bowled pretty well (towards the end). We came back pretty strongly. I think the batting looks good, but we can still improve on our bowling. We have been giving away lots of runs in the first six overs. If we are looking to finish on top, we need to minimise our mistakes,” said Raina.
He praised his teammates and said it was team effort that got them a win.
“Then, me, Baz (Brendon McCullum) and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) had a good partnership. It was important to play proper cricketing shots, there was no need to play cross- batted shots,” he said. “Basil (Thampi) is a very good prospect for Gujarat. (James) Faulkner was also great, got Gautam Gambhir out. Overall, it was a great team effort. It was important for me to be out there and keep calm when wickets fell,” said Raina, who was declared the man-of-the-match for his brilliant knock.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said that the explosive start by Aaron Finch and McCullum was the reason behind his team’s loss.
“I thought we batted really well, bu they are a dangerous side. I thought the total was enough, especially with the attack we have, but the way Finchy and McCullum batted, they removed the entire pressure from the middle order,” Gambhir said. “The wicket was still a bit sticky in the first innings, but Lions are a batting-heavy side. We still have a lot of positives to take from the match. We need to give credit to the opposition at times,” he said.