IPL 2016: 'Fresh wicket' reason behind KKR's loss, says Piyush Chawla

 Kolkata Knight Riders leg-spinner Piyush Chawla said Gujarat Lions got the advantage of bowling on a fresh wicket to secure a five-wicket win in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament in Kolkata. 

'Wicket was good'

"Wicket was good and maybe because of the last night's rain it was fresh and seaming a bit during the first innings. They got the advantage of first wicket," Chawla said after their loss to Gujarat Lions last night. In a splendid display of seam bowling, Praveen Kumar (2/19), Dhawal Kulkarni (1/30) and Dwayne Smith (1/14) reduced KKR to 24/4 in 5.5 overs before they recovered to 158/4 but the total proved insufficient as the Lions cantered home by five wickets with two overs to spare.

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"We lost a few early wickets but recovered well. They batted really well. I don't think many things went wrong, it's just that they played better cricket," Chawla said. The two-time former champions' most successful bowler Sunil Narine missed a second match but Chawla blamed it on the offspinner's injured finger in his bowling hand. "He's not yet fully fit. He has injury on his spinning finger. We will have to wait."

'Death bowling worries'

Asked whether death bowling was a worry, Chawla said, "First few games, we didn't bowl well in death. But in the last game (against KXIP) we defended really well. In this game, they just needed run a ball at one point of time and we could not do much. It's not that like that. In this format, you're bound to go for few runs."

From being at the top of the table, KKR slipped to third place after the loss and they still have to win two more from four matches to qualify for the playoffs but Chawla chose to count on the positives. "There's a lot to take. Shakib batted really well and Yusuf too was hitting well in last few games. He went in a difficult situation and paced his innings really well. It was tremendous to watch."  

Gujarat Lions pleasantly surprised 

Gujarat Lions were pleasantly surprised to see a seaming track on offer at the Edens Gardens and made full use of the conditions to set up a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match, said veteran seamer Praveen Kumar.  "We were surprised to see this wicket. We were expecting a rank-turner. There was a bit of juice in the wicket initially, with a bit of grass that made some difference. We bowled in the right areas and got early breakthroughs so it helped us. It was a double-pace wicket," Praveen Kumar said.

Praveen took two wickets in three balls which included that of in-form Gautam Gambhir (five) as KKR were tottering at 24/4 in 5.5 overs before Shakib Al Hasan (66 not out) and Yusuf Pathan (63 not out) staged the recovery.
He, however, disagreed that toss played a crucial factor as Gujarat Lions returned to winning ways after a hattrick of losses. "Toss does not matter much, you have to give your 100 per cent. If you play well, you will come up in the table, like Sunrisers Hyderabad did (in the previous match today)." Giving the team the credit for having full faith on him, he said: "My team has full faith in me, Raina trusts me.

Praveen eyeing India comeback? 

Getting wickets is really not in your hands. One day you can get hit and the next day you may get four wickets also and win the match in this format. You always want to do well. But this format is very unpredictable."
Asked whether he's eyeing an India comeback like another veteran Ashish Nehra, he said, "I follow a simple principle, I just focus on my performance, work hard and win the match for your team. That's my job. I don't think what others saying or doing."
Aaron Finch once again batted lower the order and Praveen said, "It's a strategy to play him in the middle. It's about being flexible.