Credit to bowlers for the win: Gambhir

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir on Saturday heaved praise on his bowlers for his side's comfortable victory over Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match, saying their effort to restrict the visitors to a meagre 119 made it easy for batsmen to chase down the target. (Also Read: Ganguly cheers for Kolkata Knight Riders)


"All the credit goes to the way our bowlers bowled. Kings XI Punjab have plenty of depth in the batting so to keep them to such a small total was great. They (bowlers) set up the match for us," Gambhir said after his side's eight-wicket victory over KXIP. (Also Read: Sourav brought luck for us: Shah Rukh Khan)

He also praised Englishman Eoin Morgan, who produced a cameo of 15-ball 28 at the top of order, for giving the momentum to KKR's run chase.

"Morgan batted brilliantly in the first 4-5 overs, taking a lot of pressure off. He is a quality player and we wanted to give him more time at the middle, so we sent him as opener. His cameo gave us the confidence and momentum in the run chase," said Gambhir.

KKR joined Mumbai Indians to the top of table on 10 points from eight matches but Gambhir said they have a long way to go in the tournament.

"We have a long way to go, we just want to continue to play good cricket. As long as we put in 100 per cent results don't matter. We have six more games to play and we want to continue the momentum," he said.

KXIP captain Adam Gilchrist rued that his side could not post a challenging total. "We needed at least 20 more, it was a spinning wicket and a bit difficult against the quicks as well early on. Their spinners bowled well but we gifted away wickets through run-outs. We had three outs actually," he said.

"Once they (KKR) knew the target, they could afford to take a few early risks. We have to dust ourselves and get up for the next game (against Mumbai Indians)."

Man of the match Iqbal Abdulla, who took two for 19 from his four overs, said he was pleased to have got the wickets of Gilchrist and David Hussey.

"I feel really good, I was ready for it. I have bowled in the first six overs before. Felt good to get wickets of Adam Gilchrist and David Hussey. This s my first Man of the Match Award. I'm really happy," he said.