Kolkata Knight Riders’s players glorify assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and mentor Gautam Gambhir’s role in moulding team into a champion outfit after third IPL triumph
Kolkata Knight Riders’s players celebrate after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad to win the IPL-17 trophy at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Sunday. PIC/BCCI; IPL
Drenched in emotion, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players highlighted the contributions of mentor Gautam Gambhir and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in moulding the team into a champion outfit that outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to lift its third IPL trophy here on Sunday. KKR crushed Hyderabad by eight wickets in a completely one-sided final after bowling out their opponents for 113, the lowest ever total in an IPL title clash. This was KKR’s third IPL title.
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Abhishek Nayar and Gautam Gambhir
Varun Chakravarathy, who has had a successful season with his spin bowling, lauded Nayar’s contributions. “All I can think right now is of the person who built this Indian core: Abhishek Nayar. ‘Please come here’,” he said, asking the former Mumbai batter to join them.
Jubilant Venkatesh
Venkatesh Iyer, who remained not out on 52 off 26 balls in an easy chase of 114, also mentioned Nayar’s role in the team’s success. “Really happy with it. As Varun mentioned, Abhishek Nayar deserves all the credit in the world. Some contributions go unnoticed, I want to make sure they don’t. This guy deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has been working for this franchise.” Having lost the toss, KKR produced a clinical effort with the ball to dismiss SRH for 113, the lowest ever total in an IPL title clash.
Gauti’s message
KKR chased down the target of 114 with as many as 57 balls to spare, even as team mentor Gambhir and head coach Chandrakant Pandit watched the action unfolding in the middle from the dugout. “I want to share one short story that when GG [Gambhir] bhaiya was named the mentor. I sent him a long message as I was really happy. But he replied saying, ‘Thank you but I would be happy if we stand at the podium with the trophy in our hands’. Today is that day and I will never forget that message,” said Nitish Rana. Middle-order batter Rinku Singh said, “I am proud of my whole team and GG sir. It was God’s plan.”
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