Mumbai, March 13: Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist today blamed poor shot selection by his batsmen for his team’s 11 run defeat at the hands of last season’s cellar team Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which got underway at the D Y Patil Stadium at Nerul near here today.
Speaking to reporters after the loss, a match which according to Gilchrist they should have won, the former Australian wicketkeeper batsman said very poor shot selection and good, smart and clever bowling by the Kolkata Knight Riders did them in.
He also praised the batting of Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah which helped KKR reach 161. ”We started off well, but our death bowling, we need to work a lot on that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the hero in KKR win, Angelo Mathews said when he joined Owais Shah with their team struggling at 31 for four, the only thing in his mind was keeping wickets intact and building a partnership. ”We wanted to stay in the middle for as long as possible and put up a decent score and we managed to do that,” SriLankan all- rounder said.
”We are a strong unit who has the believe of being able to come back from whatever the situation and we proved that today, he added.
——-Agencies