Abu Dhabi: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir believes that if his batsmen can put up a good total, like they did in the first match against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, he has a bowling attack that can keep winning matches. “We have a quality bowling attack and, if we can put runs on the board, most often we will end up winning the game,” he remarked proudly.

Gambhir knew that his team would win the match – they triumphed by 41 runs – the moment they scored over 150 runs. “We’ve got all our basics covered in the bowling department and it’s just about putting runs on the board, which we did. We knew that if we got 150, it was good and 13 extra runs was a luxury.”

Gambhir then hit out at people who criticised ace all-rounder Jacques Kallis’ effectiveness for the team. “There was never a debate about Kallis because we had always one thing in mind that a quality player is a quality player irrespective of what format he is playing. People keep talking about T20 specialist and all that stuff. Look at all four foreign players that played today and all of them are good 50 overs and very good Test cricketers as well. A good player is a good player irrespective of what format he is playing. From our point of view there was never a debate about his strike rate and stuff. We wanted someone to bat through and it was his turn and, hopefully, he can continue this form.”

Gambhir also revealed that his team are ready for any kind of wicket. “We are pretty equipped to all kinds of wickets despite people keep talking that we give low and slow wickets in Kolkata. I don’t believe in all that and we are very much equipped for all kinds of surfaces, and so hopefully we will play some good cricket, the way we played today and continue the momentum.”

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians coach John Wright admitted that his team did not play to their potential. “I think they probably got 15 to 20 runs more than we had hoped. I think credit should go to the opposition, as they’ve got a pretty decent bowling attack. Actually they bowled well, especially Sunil Narine, who bowled very well. So it is a tough start and that happens. There is always going to be tight games.”

Wright then went on to explain the two factors that titled the match in favour of Kolkata. “Narine is particularly tough if you are looking to score 11 or 12 runs an over and that is the stage he had actually the opportunity to bowl at and he did some damage early on too and we got ourselves in a position where we were behind a little bit. We should have been a little bit more accurate with our catching and then [Jacques] Kallis took that brilliant catch to get rid of Rohit Sharma.”

Wright also revealed that Kallis’s knock of 72 did not take him by surprise. “You know they are stable players. This competition is for those who finish their careers. They have the incentive to perform well in this competition because that is their cricket and Jacques has always been a great cricketer. He is one of the greatest players in the game. Look at that catch he took tonight, possibly there won’t be many on that field that would have taken that catch. He had a great game and it happened against us and that is the way it goes.”

Wright even admitted that the defeat was a lesson. “We will learn our lesson and we will go back and have a look at it and try and go into the next match with a fighting attitude. I am happy with the side we have and we will take this defeat in our chin and move on.”