A satisfying turnaround, says elated Gambhir

It was one of those rare occasions when Gautam Gambhir flashed a generous smile and he had every reason to.

After Kolkata Knight Riders booked their Play-offs berth following their 30-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday, Gambhir termed the team’s performance as very satisfying. From losing five of their first seven games to winning the next six games in a row, it’s has been a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes.

“I am pretty relieved as well,” stated Gambhir in his post-match comments. “We were two wins from first seven games and obviously from there to turn it around, winning six games in a row is very satisfying to be honest. But, somewhere deep inside my heart, I knew we had enough talent to turn it around. Whenever I sat back in the dressing room and look at the players around, I thought there were enough strong individuals to turn it around. So it's satisfying but not surprising,” he explained.

Gambhir credited the entire team for the way team has performed in the last six matches. “If you see, even when we lost those five games it was not like we were beaten convincingly by any side. If you see against Rajasthan (Royal), we were in a position to win and we should have finished those games. The one against Delhi in Dubai too we should have won. That’s what this format is all about. Sometimes freak things happen. I always knew that it was just a matter of time where if we are little more intelligent or a little more calm, we can turn things around. See from my point of view, I haven’t changed the fortunes or any one individual has changed the fortunes,” he offered.       

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s batsman Yogesh Takawale, who scored a 35-ball 45, felt that they needed another partnership.