Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly today hailed the maiden victory of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, saying the team was destined to win and credited little-known Manvinder Singh Bisla for the triumph.
“After the first six overs in the KKR innings, I thought 191 was gettable. I thought KKR was destined to win. Bisla batted superbly. It was clean hitting. He played out of his skin,” Ganguly said.
Bisla never allowed the pressure to choke him and along with Jacques Kallis did not allow the required run rate to go out of control, Ganguly, who was also a former KKR captain, said.
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He went on to say, “Kolkata Knight Riders are deserving winners. Chennai Super Kings never seemed as consistently good as the Knights.”
Ganguly’s elder brother Snehasish, who was a former Ranji player, wondered if the triumph would help Bengal cricket.
“It’s a franchise (KKR) that has won it. But I’m not sure how much the city and State would benefit from their success. IPL is a commercial venture afterall,” Snehashish told PTI.
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“The tournament started with the principle that every team would develop cricket at their regions, like what we saw with Rajasthan in the first edition. But as of now, KKR has no contribution to Bengal cricket.”
“It would really help the state, if they (KKR) tie up with CAB, bring out an academy with international coaches here,” he said.
CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya congratulated the home team for their superb IPL success and said they would organise a grand function at the Eden Gardens tomorrow to celebrate the famous victory.
Former India women’s cricket team captain Jhulan Goswami said the win has put Kolkata on the world map once again.