Chennai: Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders’ run chase against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings, gave his man-of-the-match award to young Bengal batsman Debabrata Das, who showed tremendous nerves at the end of the innings.

Captain of the KKR in the post match press conference said that it does not matter how you start the innings but all that matters is how you finish the game. Gambhir also stated that Das is a player to watch out for.

Gambhir scored a fluent 63 in just 52 balls and took KKR to the winning distance. Things were looking comfortable for KKR as they needed only 16 runs in two overs. But, everything changed as Gambhir was dismissed of the first ball in the 19th over, the ever struggling Yusuf Pathan was on the crease and things worsened for the visiting side. Das looked the far better player from the two and hit a crucial boundary on the very first ball that he faced.

Pathan wasted two more deliveries before getting out to Ashwin and it was up to Das to take the team home. Das hit a cracking boundary of Ashwin to seal the victory for the Knight Riders.

Gambhir once again came out in defense for Yusuf Pathan who is scoring at an average of less than seven, saying that he is a quality player and a big match player. He added that it is a good sign that that the team is winning without his contribution.