29th September, Hyderabad (CRICKETNMORE): Kolkata beat Dolphins by 36 runs in the CLT20 league match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad.
Quotes
Uthappa - 'It was a good wicket to bat on and I was looking to get myself in first before playing shots. There was some movement for the bowlers and it wasn't easy to middle the ball. Manish is someone who does his best when he bats freely and that is what he did today. Hope he continues that in the coming games. It was important to convert the start into big scores and I was keen on holding one end up rotating the strike with Manish doing the hitting. I am loving the challenge of keeping to these wonderful spinners and it has been fun.'
Gambhir - 'It was important for us not to be complacent as we had already qualified for the semi finals. We wanted to do something different as we were chasing in the last few games. Hence, we thought of batting first to give some of our top order guys a real good hit. It was nice to see Robin and Manish bat the way they did. We wanted our bowlers to get a feel of some pressure with the crunch games ahead. Piyush, Kuldeep and Narine have done very well for us with Russell bending his back well. We haven't done well in the past in this tournament and want to correct it this time.'
Van Wyk - 'We tried hard with the ball and got it right in the initial overs with the new ball. However, they played well and got a big partnership which made things difficult. It was hard to keep the runs down once they got going. We lost wickets very early and that never helps in a chase. We played against a team that was at its best. It has been a good experience for the boys as they played some tough cricket. This tournament will help our players in the season ahead.'