Kolkata: All the top batsmen, including Chris Gayle (49 off 31 balls), Virat Kohli (75 off 51 balls) and AB de Villeirs (59 off 31 balls) came to party, as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Kolkata Knight Kniders by nine wickets in the IPL match played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
Earlier Gautam Gambhir (51 of 34 balls) and Manish Pandey (50 of 35 balls) had helped KKR post a defendable 183 runs against the Bangalore team.
Speaking about the win, RCB skipper Virat Kohli, who was also Man-of- the-Match said, “It was a tricky chase because the wicket was a bit sticky. I knew I had to stay in. We spoke about that. Again, with AB coming out and taking the chase along with me, it feels wonderful. We haven't always played well in Kolkata, but it feels great that we'll carry this win to Bangalore.”
“I was scared while I walked off the field, my webbing was split badly, but I told the physio I had to go out and bat at any cost. There is no room for errors. We have momentum at the right time now and we just want to continue it. I told AB we have to take the team home and he responded saying 'Yes, we will.' He never lets pressure get on to me. We run well between the wickets and the opposition gets unsettled,” said Kohli, adding that it's a big split and his hand had started to pain now. “Looks like I've got get seven or eight stitches. I don't mind even 10 stitches as long as we keep winning.”
Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir said, “I thought it was a good wicket, and we needed 180-190. We were there in the game, but I dropped a crucial catch. We could have put some pressure had I taken that. I knew they would come hard at us, but our bowlers gave everything. We knew RCB were a quality chasing side. Andre Russell is a very crucial player for us, hope his injury isn't serious.”
