Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir’s onslaught silenced the home crowd and took KKR to a comfortable 10-wicket victory against Gujarat Lions at SCA, Rajkot. Gujarat had earlier posted a formidable 183 courtesy some brutal hitting by Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina coupled with shoddy fielding from the visiting side.
However, Lynn and Gambhir made light work of the chase, scoring 93 and 76 respectively.
The duo added 73 in the powerplay and took KKR to 110 at the half-way mark. They then eased off the gas a bit to reach their respective 50s off 19 and 33 balls before eventually guiding their side to victory.
The win takes KKR to the top of the table while the Lions sit bottom courtesy net run rate.
Here are the reactions from the game:
Suresh Raina on the loss:
“I think 180 still was a good total. We did not bowl well in the first six overs - the bowling was not experienced and it is a learning curve. They played really good cricket shots. We need to learn from here. We missed the experience of Jadeja and Bravo. Jadeja has done really well in the T20 format.
“When you are not bowling well up front, you need experience, someone like Bravo in the middle. Dinesh batted really well, and had a good first-class season. Still, we have batting depth in the team.”
Gautam Gambhir on the win:
“You can't ask for more from Lynny. He took a lot of pressure off me. The bowlers also did a fantastic job. I always feel that somebody who can take the ball both ways will be crucial. We have Kuldeep, Chawla. We are going to give Lynny a longer run. Hopefully, he can keep smacking it.
“These are early days in the tournament - the dropped catches were there - but we need to be proactive in the field. We all know how dangerous he is, and hopefully, we can play around him. We have just one day to recover and we will have to bring our A game against Mumbai in Mumbai.”
Chris Lynn on receiving the Man of the Match award:
“To hit the ball a long way is my role. Touch wood and I enjoy the role. At the end of the day, it is about preparation. I like the spot at the top, the ball is coming on. I am used to the ball coming on at home. Gauti is such a good player of spin, I can turn the strike to him and I can handle the quicks. One good innings does not make a summer.”
Here is how the cricketing fraternity reacted to the match:
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