Kolkata Knight Riders’ good form to the Indian Premier League (IPL) continued as they won their third match of the season after they defeated a struggling Kings XI Punjab by six wickets. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa put in yet another impressive opening stand as they got their team off to the right start, setting the pace for the chase.
Preparing a track that did not assist the Kings’ strengths did not work out well for the home side as the KKR spinners helped restrict Punjab to a mediocre score of 138. The impressive win took KKR to the top of the table and the franchise from Kolkata continues to look like the most balanced side in the IPL so far.
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Kings XI Punjab captain, David Miller:
“It's disappointing. We didn't score enough runs, lost too many wickets upfront, and missed a few opportunities on the field. We're not far away from a win, we're close. I believe in the boys. I'm confident we can turn it around.
“The middle order, myself to blame too. I haven't scored too many runs. In the bowling department, we've given away too many boundary balls. There were a lot of positives. Sahu bowled exceptionally well, very happy to see Shaun get runs under its belt. We have got some unbelievable plays in out squad.”
Kolkata Knight Riders captain, Gautam Gambhir:
“We were professional. Our opening partnership was important. The way Robin batted made the chase easy. Hopefully, we can continue batting the same way. There's always room for improvement, but all of us want to continue the winning habit. You don't want to flirt with form, you never know when it will dry.
“When you're scoring runs, you need to get as many as possible. Manish and Surya are batting well in the middle, so I'm not too concerned about the middle order not having too many opportunities. We have a stable squad, we haven't made too many changes. We trust our players and give them that security, that is very important.
“We wanted to ease Narine in, we don't want to put too much pressure on him. We have five quality bowlers apart from him. It's time for others to share the burden that he has been carrying for quite some time. He's been brilliant since the last two games.”
Man-of-the-match, Robin Uthappa:
“I was a little rusty with the gloves to start off with, but happy to be able to contribute and get better. That's the thing with someone who doesn't keep regularly. It's important to create momentum at the start of the tournament, that's something we have focussed on.
“Gautam and I share a good chemistry at the top of the order, the understanding is there, which helps us rotate strike. You don't try to fix something that ain't broke. We have to just complement each other and keep things simple.”
Kolkata Knight Riders owner and Bollywood actor, Shah Rukh Khan:
Indian commentator, Aakash Chopra:
Indian commentator, Harsha Bhogle:
Former Indian cricketer, Mohammad Kaif:
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