Honour in defeat

Kolkata: Chris Gayle, the West Indian opener for the Kolkata Knight Riders, talked to the media after his team’s loss to Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Despite a 200 total, and a blitzkrieg innings of 88 from Gayle, KKR were still well beaten by eight wickets. Here are some excerpts:

On what went wrong in defending a 200-run target:

Yeah, I guess with 200 runs we lost this game [so it is] very disappointing. I thought it was a good total and we can’t take away the fact that they batted well, we [have] got to give them credit. They went about it well. It is not easy playing against Kings XI, they have nothing to lose and there is no question of them being under any pressure, actually, so they played freely and in the end it cost us, it is very disappointing that we lost this game, it was a very important one for us.

On Twenty20 cricket finally coming of age:

I think as we go along, the players will get better and they will understand the situation as quickly as possible, especially when you are chasing down. You have to take into consideration that the outfield (at Eden) is very fast and it’s not too big as well. So 200 on any ground, on any wicket, any given day, any particular batsman can come out and stamp his authority very early. Eventually you might be right. It’s going to be difficult for bowlers but, like I said, the spinners are doing a wonderful job with the ball. This loss is a one-off situation and we still have to be positive going into the next game.

On the next match being crucial:
It’s crucial for us, we still have about five or six games to go and we need to win most likely all of those games. Like I said in T20 anything is possible but we still need to go out there and get the job done.

On playing a great knock but still ending up on the losing side:

Yeah, it is good to get some runs, that’s what I am here for. I started a bit slow. But having said that the captain (Sourav Ganguly) batted really well at the top of the order so that really helped the team and took the pressure of me. Then in the middle there we lost the captain and then I had to pick up the pace, which went well but then ended very unfortunately. Like I said with 200 runs we always think it will obviously be a challenge to win the game so… but it is T20 so, as I said, anything is possible.

On the dropped catch (by Murali Kartik when Mahela Jayawardene was on 51)

Its cricket, it will happen, these things will always happen, it is crucial at the same time but it is just one of those things you cannot blame anyone. Well you have to hold these well-judged catches, but it didn’t happen this time. But (Mahela) Jayawardene batted really well, you cannot take away the fact that he batted well and then (Kumar) Sangakkara came in and batted well and Yuvraj came in and finished off the innings.

On Brendon McCullum not playing and the difficulty of choosing the four overseas players:

Like the captain said, it is always going to be difficult, these are good quality players. He’s just come in, the captain said it’s a tough job choosing between them. Especially when only four can play.

On the thought processes in choosing the team:

I don’t know what went on in the selection. The team management takes the decision and I am not part of it, we can only make a suggestion and make a point. But at the same time I guess the captain doesn’t want the team to be changed too much.