Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lost to Somerset in the Sunday's match in a Group B fixture of the Champions League T20 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.An explosive knock from skipper Jacques Kallis and a fiery cameo by Yusuf Pathan powered KKR to 161/3.
In reply, Somerset started off well, with Roelof van der Merwe scoring 73 runs of 40 balls. Roelof van der Merwe's knock included 9 fours and 2 sixes. It looked like the Somerset would cruise to victory easily, but they suffered a hiccup in between when they lost 3 quick wickets between the 14th and 15th over.
However, Nick Compton and Steve Snell held their nerves and led their side to victory with 2 balls remaining.
Roelof van der Merwe was the man of the match.
While receiving the award, Merwe said: "It is always good to play an innings like this and contribute to a win. At present, I am looking at playing for Somerset; they have been good to me. I have had the opportunity to bat up the order for them."
KKR captain Gautam Gambhir said that he hoped his team would not repeat the mistakes of Sunday's match against Somerset, which they lost by five wickets.
"The way Somerset batted in the first six overs, they took the game away from us. However, we did well to take the game to last over. There are a lot of positives from this game. And, in the coming game, we should not repeat the mistakes we made today," said Gambhir.
Asked about his fitness, as Gambhir was making a comeback after more than a month following an injury that he sustained during the recent England tour, he said: "I am 100 percent fit; therefore, I played today. I had always said that until I am not 100 percent fit, I would not play."
Gambhir, who was out on a duck, said: "This was my first game after one-and-a-half months, it takes time to comeback after injury."
Whether the team was short of runs in Sunday's game, he said: " The 162-run score on board was a good total. This score gives lot of confidence to bowlers, but Somerset batted well."
To another query, he replied: "In the other 20-20 format, you have to always think as a professional that you will win. In today's match also, we never thought that we will lose."
Asked about the road ahead for the team in this tournament, he replied: "It is pretty clear. We have three more games. Hopefully, we can win all three and get into the semi-final. Sometimes, it is good that you need to win all games. You go out and give everything."
"We have got strength in our dressing room. We can bounce back. I have lot of confidence in the team," he added.
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