I felt like a 70-year-old during the Eliminator against SRH: Gautam Gambhir

Two-time Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir in a strange statement said that he felt like a 70-year-old, during the late finish against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 17 (Wednesday).

The match was well poised in KKR’s favour after they managed to restrict SRH for just 128 in their share of overs but right at the end of the inning it started to pour down heavy in Bengaluru. It rained for over almost three hours but excellent drainage and the use of advanced technology in the ground enabled the game to resume.

“I was born in October 1981. By that count I am 35 years of age. But I can assure you that after the stress and the tension that I went through during the Sunrisers Hyderabad game, I feel like a worn out 70-year old. Till around 9.30 pm, I felt as if I owned half the planet and the ownership papers of the other half were being prepared. Then rain pelted my planet and washed away all my dreams. Almost,” Gambhir wrote in his column.

The story

On Wednesday (May 17) evening KKR won the toss and elected to bowl first. They did a great job by reducing defending champions SRH to a mediocre score. Kolkata must have surely had their heart in the mouth as the rain gods seemed to show no mercy. Had the game been washed out then SRH would have got through owing to their better rank in the points table.

But, thanks to Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) excellent SubAir drainage system, we still had a game to witness even though it was cut short to a 6 overs affair. KKR’s run chase began at 12.55 AM with a revised target of 48 from 6 overs. Once they lost 3 wickets in quick succession, it felt as if the game still had a twist to offer. However, skipper Gautam Gambhir came to his team’s rescue scoring an unbeaten 32 from 19 balls as Kolkata crossed the line with four balls to spare.

After the game, the 35-year-old went on to praise KSCA for revamping their drainage system. He stated that if Karnataka had a reason to feel proud about something after the Mysore dosa, it was this and admitted that had it been any other stadium, the game would have been abandoned.

He further added that he felt bad for Sunrisers Hyderabad and suggested that someone should take note of such scenarios from here on and make sure they have an alternate plan to deal with it.

KKR will now lock horns with Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2 at the same venue on Friday (May 19). The winner gets a ticket to play the final against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) on Sunday (May 21) in Hyderabad.