NEW DELHI: During his YouTube channel interview with Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday, Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir discussed the Indian Premier League rivalry between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
IPL ORANGE CAP | IPL PURPLE CAP
In the 31 IPL head-to-head encounters between the Knight Riders and the Super Kings since 2008, CSK emerged victorious 19 times against KKR‘s 11 victories, with one encounter ending in no-result.
The 42-year-old claimed that, in his opinion, the strategies used by the Chennai and Kolkata teams to approach the game were very similar.
“It’s not only the magnitude of the contest. When two good teams play against each other, it’s going to be an exciting and hard-fought game. I always felt that CSK and KKR were very, very similar in the way they approached the game,” Gambhir said on Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
The former left-hander went on to say that both sides’ plans were extremely similar.
“The way MS Dhoni used the spinners and we had three quality spinners as well. CSK had three quality spinners and probably the conditions, whether it was in Chepauk or in Eden at that time, were very similar. Chepauk had bigger dimensions as compared to what Eden as a ground is. Our strategies were very similar to each other. That is the reason KKR had to be at our best from the tactical point of view to be able to beat CSK. That’s the reason why I always felt that CSK and KKR during those times were very very similar teams,” the former India opener added.
In November last year, Gambhir made a comeback to the KKR team as a mentor. Prior to that, he played the same role for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL in 2021 and 2022. Regarding his IPL experience, the southpaw has participated for both KKR and the Delhi Capitals. As captain of the Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, he won two IPL championships.
KKR will play for a spot in the final when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
(With ANI inputs)
IPL ORANGE CAP | IPL PURPLE CAP
In the 31 IPL head-to-head encounters between the Knight Riders and the Super Kings since 2008, CSK emerged victorious 19 times against KKR‘s 11 victories, with one encounter ending in no-result.
The 42-year-old claimed that, in his opinion, the strategies used by the Chennai and Kolkata teams to approach the game were very similar.
“It’s not only the magnitude of the contest. When two good teams play against each other, it’s going to be an exciting and hard-fought game. I always felt that CSK and KKR were very, very similar in the way they approached the game,” Gambhir said on Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
The former left-hander went on to say that both sides’ plans were extremely similar.
“The way MS Dhoni used the spinners and we had three quality spinners as well. CSK had three quality spinners and probably the conditions, whether it was in Chepauk or in Eden at that time, were very similar. Chepauk had bigger dimensions as compared to what Eden as a ground is. Our strategies were very similar to each other. That is the reason KKR had to be at our best from the tactical point of view to be able to beat CSK. That’s the reason why I always felt that CSK and KKR during those times were very very similar teams,” the former India opener added.
In November last year, Gambhir made a comeback to the KKR team as a mentor. Prior to that, he played the same role for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL in 2021 and 2022. Regarding his IPL experience, the southpaw has participated for both KKR and the Delhi Capitals. As captain of the Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, he won two IPL championships.
KKR will play for a spot in the final when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
(With ANI inputs)