A miffed Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir on Monday described his side’s 10-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here as something which he has never seen on a cricket field.
In one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the history of IPL, Rajasthan came from nowhere to register an improbable victory against KKR.
Chasing a victory target of 171, KKR was sailing along at 121 for no loss with Gambhir (54) and Robin Uthappa (65) cruising before losing an incredible six wickets for the addition of just two runs in a space of nine deliveries, which led to the disappointing loss.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow. I have not seen this kind of cricket,” Gambhir said after the match.
“We have to move on. We still have eight games left. We still need to work on bowling as apart from Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan, others need to take the responsibility,” he said.
Tambe praised
Rajasthan captain Shane Watson praised hat-trick man Pravin Tambe for his fine bowling show.
“It was a nice way to close out a game. That’s what we talk about in our team set up. PT (Tambe) just keeps going and going, getting big batsmen out all the time. He deserves a pay rise and he is making my life easier for sure,” he said.
Asked about his three-wicket burst in the same over — 15th — which opened the floodgates for his side, Watson said: “Definitely, few things went my way in that over. Had not had much of an impact with the ball, so it was good to get those wickets.”
Man-of-the-Match Tambe, who also took the purple cap for becoming the highest wicket-taker, said, “The confidence the team gives me, I will never forget. This was my first hat-trick. At this level you have to keep the energy throughout.”