After his team ended up on the losing side, Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist said Eoin Morgan's blazing 42 made the difference. Chasing 150 for victory, Kolkata were 76/3 in the 11th over before Morgan came up with his match-winning knock and was involved in a crucial partnership worth 76 runs with Manvinder Bisla.
Gilchrist, speaking at the post-match conference, said 150 was a decent target but proved to be insufficient in the end due to good performances from Bisla (51 not-out) Kallis (37) and Morgan.
"We were on even terms for the longest time but Morgan came in and changed everything. He is a wonderful player and had a great day, 150 was a good target to set. But Bisla batted beautifully, as did Jacques. It was still game on till Morgan came in and took it away from us. Our bowlers have done a good job till tonight and the young guys are developing well."
Punjab had themselves to blame as they gave Bisla and Morgan early reprieves which proved to be costly in the end. Bisla was put down by Mandeep Singh in the second over when he had scored just 1 while Bhargav Bhatt dropped a sitter when Morgan was on 29.
"We didn't help ourselves with those dropped catches. Both Bisla and Morgan made us pay. I am happy with our overall performance, but the misses did prove costly. We have to take those chances if we want to perform consistently," Gilchrst said.
Gilchrist has been in woeful form this year and he did not do anything substantial in this game as well, getting out for a run-a-ball 27. The keeper batsman, while mentioning that his place still remains under scrutiny, said he had been practicing hard for the tournament.
"We look at every player and the package they bring to the field - allrounders, players who bat and bowl or bat and keep wickets, and I am no different. I haven't been in wonderful form up to this point, but as I have been saying, I have practiced more leading up to this tournament than I have in any other one. So maybe I should stop practicing," said Gilchrist.
Gilchrist said he was happy to get some runs in this game although he expressed his disappointment at not being able to convert the start into a bigger score.
"It was nice to get some in the middle of the bat. But yes, you get 20-30 and you're happy but then you get out, so you're never really happy as a batsman. I'll have to keep trying to lift my game and contribute."
Gilchrist admitted that he is not at his height of powers being the oldest player in the tournament. The former Australian stumper though felt that he was batting well until the shot he played to deep mid-wicket that resulted in his dismissal.
"I am the oldest player in the tournament and I'm not at the height of my powers and I understand that. Everything felt really good today up until that shot. I'm obviously not hitting the ball like I used to in the prime of my career," said Gilchrist.
Gilchrist mentioned that his failures are not "life-shattering", adding that there are far more important things in life other than cricket - referring to the Men Against Rape and Discrimination initiative launched by Bollywood actor and director Farhan Akhtar, which Gilchrist said was a wonderful initiative.
"I'm not shattered by anything. It's not life and death," he said.
"It's a wonderful initiative that we are all supporting and should be taken very seriously because what we have seen and read about it is disturbingly gruesome and horrible," Gilchrist said about the MARD initiative.
Speaking about the innovations in the game of cricket, Gilchrist said it was nothing new but the variety has been on the up of late.
"I was flabbergasted when I saw Jonty Rhodes hit the reverse sweep, not the dab but the hard smack for six, in 1997. So innovation isn't new but the variety is increasing. I never chose to go that way, you know, like the old dog and new tricks. I was more of a hitter. But it's amazing where they can hit the ball these days - no ball's safe," Gilchrist quipped.
source:cricbuzz
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