Picking quality bowlers helped: Gambhir

Kolkata captain ecstatic after team lifts second IPL title.

Gautam Gambhir, captain of the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders, has said that picking quality bowlers, instead of buying big batting names during the February auction, helped the team to pocket its second title.

Kolkata defeated Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in the tournament’s final late Sunday. “When we went into the auction, we wanted a good bowling attack,” said Gambhir, according to The Indian Express.

“A lot of teams might have thought of having a very good batting line-up in the T20 format. A strong bowling attack takes a lot of pressure off batting. But we batted brilliantly as well.”

When asked to choose between the title wins of 2012 and this season, the captain said that the recent victory was more decisive as after the first seven games, cricket pundits and critics had written them off.

However, nine wins on the trot spoke volumes about the resilience of the team.

“It is difficult to compare the two wins, but I feel especially after the first seven games, many people may not have given us a chance of playing the finals,” he said.

“Nine [wins] in a row says a lot about the character of the team and the individuals. Halfway through the tournament, we were sixth or seventh. So this is something very special, which will stay close to my heart.” Commenting on batsman Manish Pandey’s 94 that boosted Kolkata’s chances a great deal, Gambhir said that a player’s worth is realised when he performs in crunch situations.

“We always felt that Pandey had the talent and fearlessness to go out and play this kind of an innings,” concluded Gambhir.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2014.

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