IPL 2017 | Gambhir blames batting failure as the reason for KKR loss

After losing their last two games, a lot was at stake for KKR when they locked horns with Mumbai Indians on Saturday at the Eden Gardens. Although Mumbai had virtually booked their place in the top two, Kolkata had to win the game to get two bites at a spot in the final after Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Gujarat Lions early on the day and climbed above them to No. 2 position. But chasing 174 to win, KKR’s batting line-up failed big time and the team fell short of nine runs.

Gambhir, understandably, was furious at the lack of sensibility and didn’t mince words as he called out the batting department's faults as the reason for the team’s loss. 

"With the kind of wicket this was, it was chaseable. Had one of the batsmen batted till the end, we would've got there. Just irresponsible shots, batsmen were trying to throw their bats at everything," Gambhir said at the post-match presentation.

Traditionally, chasing has been the strength of KKR at Eden Gardens, but, increasingly, the record is being reversed as the team lost two back-to-back matches while chasing. Whilst that is a matter of worry for the two-time champions, Gambhir believes that it was the reckless approach that took a toll on the team.

"I thought we were trying to chase it down in 10-12 overs... We were one batter short so we had to take the responsibility. We have to pull up our socks. "If we bat like this, it does not matter whether we are in the playoffs or not. If we have to win the tournament we will have to bat sensibly," he concluded.

On the other hand, Mumbai used their last league encounter to test their bench strength, having made as many as six changes to the squad. The changes paid off as Saurabh Tiwary, playing his first game of the season, and Ambati Rayudu, back in the playing XI after an injury layoff, scored half-centuries each. R Vinay Kumar, also playing his first game this season, returned with the figures of 2 for 31. 

“It was something good to see. We’ve got a great bench strength. The guys have been sitting out for a long time and it can be frustrating at times. But they came out and did what they did. They all have been proven match-winners whenever they’ve got an opportunity to come out and play, and they’ve shown that today. It was a perfect example of playing a perfect game,” gushed Rohit.

“Winning always helps. We expect that we carry the momentum into the playoffs. Again a ‘little tournament’ we have to play now. I spoke about this at the start of the tournament: We’ve got to divide into parts – one-half is over now, we are entering the little part of the tournament now. We try and focus now on what needs to be done, we need to see who we play in the playoffs now,” added Rohit.