Having watched Royal Challengers Bangalore climb up to the top of the table after yet another victory characterized by a sizeable Chris Gayle contribution, both camps expressed admiration for the Jamaican's incredible run of form in the IPL.
“I have never seen him play this well,” Daniel Vettori, skipper of the home side, said. “It has been amazing how he's played since he turned up for us.”
“He was determined to get the Orange Cap back,” Vettori said the season's highest run-getter.The captain also expressed delight at the comprehensive nature of the victory. “Chennai is an impressive side,” he said. “We were soundly beaten by them when we toured them. So we are not just happy that we are placed at the top of the table but also with the way we played today.”
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Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said Gayle had been “phenomenal”. “I haven't seen a player have that much impact in a season yet,” he said.
Fleming said CSK's relatively poor ‘away' form was down to its inability to adjust to varying conditions. “Conditions this year have been quite different around the venues,” he said.
The New Zealander refused to lay excessive blame on his batsmen for the defeat. “We just made some simple mistakes,” he said. “We won't over-analyze it; we won't train any differently. I certainly won't be coming down hard on them after today.”
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