Cape Town: Two consecutive defeats in two matches have put reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders in a spot of bother and they would have to play exceptionally well and win the next two matches with huge margin if they want to stay alive in the Champions League T20.

Acknowledging the fact that Kolkata has not been up to the mark and have a difficult road ahead of them in the tournament, skipper Gautam Gambhir said that they would have to play smart and better cricket in order to stay in contention.

“We will have to play some smart and better cricket and hopefully win both the remaining matches. Once you get the momentum you've got to continue. You can hope to win by letting the advantage go. How they played in the first over gave them momentum,” said Gambhir at post-match presentation, adding that they need to win their next two matches at any cost.

Lavishing praise on Azhar Mahmood for his all-round performance, Gambhir conceded that it was the seasoned all-rounder’s 10th over in which he struck twice to dismiss Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary made all the difference. "Azhar's first over turned the entire momentum in their favour. We lost two wickets in that particular over. The way they Auckland Aces bowled, a lot of credit should be given to them," he said.

Auckland Aces captain Gareth Hopkins too was in all praise for Mahmood for his superb all-round show and said the win against KKR has boosted their confidence. "The win against KKR has really boosted our confidence. Those two wickets by Mahmood helped us a lot in restricting them. We got off to a good start with the bat and Mahmood finished it off well," he said.

Meanwhile, happy with his all-round performance, man-of-the-match Azhar Mahmood said, “We bowled really well as a unit. We prepared really well two weeks before the tournament and it's paid off. Martin Guptill and Louie started off really well and I was able to finish off. Hopefully I can keep my form going.”

By Indian Sports News Network