Surya is my MoM: Gauti
A little before the toss, Gautam Gambhir had said he would be banking on Suryakumar Yadav. Little did he know then that the Mumbai batsman would play such a key role - an unbeaten 46 off 20 balls - in their seven-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians.
"I had told Ravi (Shastri) before the toss that Surya was someone to look forward to... He was made vice-captain before the game. We wanted to give him more responsibility and he has repaid the faith. We wanted to get the best out of him," the Knight Riders captain said after the match.
"Morne (Morkel) may have been the official Man of the Match, but Surya is my Man of the Match. He proved that he's a game changer. We promoted him to No.4 because we wanted him to take more responsibility. He's showed that he's capable of doing that," Gambhir said.
Gambhir also praised Sunil Narine's spell with a remodelled action.
"Sunil was very good... There was lot of talk about his action and stuff like that in the lead-up to the match. There wasn't much help for the spinners from the wicket, but the way he bowled was good for the spinners. He showed character and mental toughness.
"We don't want to put much pressure on him, we want to allow him to get into the groove. Like I said on Tuesday, even if Sunil bowls straight, he will be a threat to the opposition. I only hope he keeps going the same way," Gambhir admitted that the nature of the wicket also prompted his decision to bowl first. "I wasn't sure about the wicket. This is not a typical Eden Gardens wicket. There was a good covering of grass. There was also the threat of rain. These two factors were the reason behind my decision to bowl... Also, we've been good when chasing... "
"I had told Ravi (Shastri) before the toss that Surya was someone to look forward to... He was made vice-captain before the game. We wanted to give him more responsibility and he has repaid the faith. We wanted to get the best out of him," the Knight Riders captain said after the match.
"Morne (Morkel) may have been the official Man of the Match, but Surya is my Man of the Match. He proved that he's a game changer. We promoted him to No.4 because we wanted him to take more responsibility. He's showed that he's capable of doing that," Gambhir said.
Gambhir also praised Sunil Narine's spell with a remodelled action.
"Sunil was very good... There was lot of talk about his action and stuff like that in the lead-up to the match. There wasn't much help for the spinners from the wicket, but the way he bowled was good for the spinners. He showed character and mental toughness.
"We don't want to put much pressure on him, we want to allow him to get into the groove. Like I said on Tuesday, even if Sunil bowls straight, he will be a threat to the opposition. I only hope he keeps going the same way," Gambhir admitted that the nature of the wicket also prompted his decision to bowl first. "I wasn't sure about the wicket. This is not a typical Eden Gardens wicket. There was a good covering of grass. There was also the threat of rain. These two factors were the reason behind my decision to bowl... Also, we've been good when chasing... "