Gautam Gambhir, India's new captain for the forthcoming tour of West Indies, has set his eyes on the Indian Premier League (IPL) title to prove that he is a worthy leader and not just a replacement candidate for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who opted to rest.
Gambhir, who captains the Kolkata Knight Riders, not only top-scored with an unbeaten 54 against Pune but also took the challenge of opening the innings in place of an injured Jacques Kallis. It is this kind of readiness to shoulder responsibility and lead from the front that Team India will need from their new captain.
Speaking after the victory over Pune, Gambhir said: "Full credit to the entire team. It wasn't a helpful wicket but we wanted to play like professionals. If we win the next game too we can be second on the table and that's what we will focus on."
Gambhir also proved to be a motivational leader giving full credit to his bowlers who restricted Pune for 118 for 7 at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
Standing up for bowlers
"Whenever a team is bowled out for 120 or 130 everyone keeps talking about the wicket. Rather than talking about the wicket, a lot of credit should go to our bowlers," he reasoned.
"At Eden Gardens also, our bowlers have been doing a great job. There has been a hue and cry over that wicket but we have been chasing totals easily. The other teams have not been able to score, so give credit to our bowlers. This was good wicket to bat on," he said.
Inconsistent
He also hit out at comments that his team was inconsistent. "I disagree with the view that we were inconsistent. We have been the most consistent team in the tournament. We have played very well in the tournament.
"There has been hardly a game in which we have not given 100 per cent. We would like to do so in our next game [against Mumbai on May 22] too," he said.
Incidentally, the Kolkata-Pune match was an emotional one for some of the Kolkata fans who had come to cheer their team. With Sourav Ganguly playing for Pune they cheered for their hero whom they fondly address as Dada.
Interestingly, Ganguly hit the only six in Pune's innings and even pulled off a brilliant diving catch to send back man-of -the-match Yousuf Pathan. In fact, the cheers for Kolkata began only after Ganguly got out for 18 runs.
Pathan provides all-round edge
Pune Warriors: 118 for seven in 20 overs (Yuvraj Singh 24; Yousuf Pathan 2-23, Sakib Al Hassan 2-16, Lakshmipathy Balaji 2-7)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 119 for three in 16.4 overs (Manoj Tiwary 24, Yousuf Pathan 29).
