Gautam Gambhir, captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, said that the loss of four wickets within the first six power-play overs was the turning point of the IPL-IV eliminator match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.
"But the fact that we fought till the last over demonstrated the character of the team. We have a come a long since the inaugural IPL. MI bowled sensibly in the first overs and we decided to take more risks in the first six," said Gambhir.
"The new format is good. There’s never a dead-rubber match. The aim is to finish among the top two. If we had beaten MI in the last league match we would have played the qualifier against RCB. There has been plenty of positives for KKR this season. Manoj Tiwary was consistent. The spinners too have done a fantastic job. Credit must go to Iqbal. He has been the standout bowler for us."
KKR has a chance to make the Champions League cut. "In the qualifiers we will play against Trinidad and Tobago, one team each from Sri Lanka and New Zealand."
MI’s James Franklin said that his team did a great job with the ball. "Then Harbhajan saw us cross the line. Judging by the game between RCB and CSK, 160-170 was par score, but our bowlers did a fantastic job in restricting them."
