Jaipur, Apr 15: After two below-par outings, the most expensive player of the ongoing IPL, Gautam Gambhir finally lived upto expectations but the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper denied suggestions that he was out there to prove a point with his unbeaten fifty against Rajasthan Royals today.
Gambhir, who was bought by KKR for a whopping USD 2.4 million in the IPL 4 auctions, disappointed with the bat in the first two matches scoring just 1 and 29.
But against Rajasthan today, Gambhir played blazing innings of 75 that came off just 44 deliveries to see Knight Riders home.
“No I was not there to prove a point to anybody,” quipped the left-hander when asked whether his today's innings was a fitting reply to his detractors.
He complemented his bowlers for restricting Rajasthan to 159 for four.
Gambhir also praised in-form South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (80 not out) with whom he stitched an unbeaten 152-run match-winning stand for the second wicket.
“Our bowlers did a decent job by restricting Rajasthan Royals to 159 and we knew that if we get one good partnership going we would win the match.
“Kallis is a great batsman who takes calculated risks. I too was hitting the ball well and took pressure off him,” he said.
Gambhir begs to differ with his counterpart Shane Warne's observation that Yusuf Pathan, who played for Rajasthan in the first three editions of IPL, was a better player than Kiwi Ross Taylor.
“Shane is making lame excuse. Taylor, who has come in for Yusuf in Rajasthan Royals team, is doing a decent job,” he said.
He also had words of appreciation for his franchise and said their only focus now is playing good cricket in the tournament.
“Everything is fine and nothing is going on away from cricket. It is a fantastic franchise and we are here to play cricket and have nothing to do with off-field activities,” Gambhir stressed. PTI
