Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir is smiling after consecutive victories over Delhi Daredevils and table-toppers Kings XI Punjab. A jubilant Gambhir, who has found his form too with three fifties on the trot, hopes the run continues through the tournament.
“It’s great to get back to winning ways. We have played some very good cricket over the last two matches and I am extremely happy with the way the boys have performed. I am looking forward to the next few games,” Gambhir told this newspaper.
He also sounded pleased with his own form. “It’s good to get some runs under my belt. I was always confident that if I got a start I would convert those into scores that would help the team. I am glad to be contributing to the team on the batting front again”.
Gambhir also spoke highly of opening partner Robin Uthappa. “Robin is a very talented cricketer and I enjoy batting with him. We have a good understanding and it’s great for the team that we are clicking,” he said.
Gambhir and Co. are gearing up to play in front of their home crowds at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata for the first time in this tournament. “The Kolkata crowd is very passionate and they really get behind us. The whole team is looking forward to playing in front of them and performing well. We are glad that we’ve got a stretch of games in front of our home crowd towards the critical part of the league. Just looking forward to getting positive results in these games,” the confident KKR captain said.
However, “right now we are just focusing on each game as it comes. We need to make sure that we continue this good run,” Gambhir said, adding “KKR is a very balanced squad with a good mix of experience and youth. We have some very talented players and I am confident that we can do well this year.”
Gambhir also defended out-of-form batsman Yusuf Pathan. “Yusuf has not had a chance to bat in the last few games so it is unfair to criticise him. “He is a good player and we are sure he will contribute to the team when called upon,” the southpaw said.
And for the moment, the 2015 World Cup is certainly not on the former Indian opener’s mind. “Right now I am concentrating on the IPL and doing my best for the team,” Gambhir concluded.
