By IANS,
Kolkata : Dismissing suggestions that back to back defeats might affect team morale, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir Monday night said he was hopeful of a turnaround as the team has got two more games in the league stage of the tournament.
“No question of (the twin defeats) affecting the team morale. We have played very good cricket throughout the tournament. We played both the games to the best of our ability, but we have not been able to finish. But we still have many positives to take from these two games,” Gambhir told mediapersons here.
Dwayne Bravo struck a last ball six as title-holders Chennai Super Kings scraped past the Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in a nail-biting Indian Premier League contest at the Eden Gardens here Monday.
“We still have two more games to go. If we play well we may again end up at the top of the table. We are hopeful of turning around things,” said Gambhir at the post match press conference.
The KKR skipper lauded the crowd at the historic Eden Gardens for supporting their team.
“We thank the crowd for their love and support. Not only the crowd, the city too has given us lot of love and support,” Gambhir said.
When asked whether his team was 20 runs short, Gambhir said: “Absolutely not. We had thought that 150 would be enough, because once the ball gets old it’s going to get tough for them.”
He credited the explosive start given by Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay to the Super Kings’ innings for the visitors’ victory.
“The way they (Chennai Super Kings) started, though later on we got back into the game… lot of credit goes to the bowlers, though we couldn’t cross the line,” he said.
Gambhir also maintained that he did not believe in changing the core team after one or two losses because a captain needed to show confidence on his players.