Till 8. 1 1 pm on Thursday evening Google showed about 1,27,000 mentions of "Gautam Gambhir broken bat" as compared to around 91,400 for "Gautam Gambhir half-century vs Mumbai Indians". We love the dramas in our stories, don’t we? Elsewhere Twitter is chirping too. A cheeky one coming from one @rameshsrivats, “Gautam Gambhir is ready for Twitter. He broke his bat, but retained his handle". Funny man, although I have been handling @gautamgambhir for over a year now.
Someone in my franchise remarked that breaking a bat is akin to breaking glass which is a good omen. I am not a big believer in these things but then competitive sport makes you do weird things. In fact, the last time I had this “wardrobe malfunction” was in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The toe end of my bat was gone but India won and I scored 97. My bat sponsor sitting in Chennai would want to kill me for saying this but I won’t mind breaking 15 more bats to win this year’s IPL.
Broken bats apart we have taken a solid step towards that with the win over a formidable Mumbai team. Without being pompous and touching the wood firmly, I dare mention that we dominated most of our first game. Rohit Sharma was brilliant for Mumbai. He moved like a Rolls Royce, maneuvering the gaps on a busy road effortlessly.
A writer once beautifully summarised the elegance quotient in the batting of former West Indian great Carl Hooper. He wrote: "If batting was a beauty contest, Hooper would be Miss World.” Let’s say Rohit can easily be Miss India.
{{/usCountry}}A writer once beautifully summarised the elegance quotient in the batting of former West Indian great Carl Hooper. He wrote: "If batting was a beauty contest, Hooper would be Miss World.” Let’s say Rohit can easily be Miss India.
{{/usCountry}}KKR’s very own Surya Kumar Yadav is high on talent but has some way to go before he can be clubbed alongside the likes of the Rohits and the Virats.
I have given him a nickname 'SKY' after his initials. It is not about what he does on the field that all of you see but also about his attitude. I hope SKY stays grounded and understands his potential although I have given him the vice-captaincy mantle just to see how he handles responsibility.
Eden Gardens was near full. There was some talk about the lack of local talent in KKR. I think the crowd support on Wednesday answers that question.
I think besides an odd team here or there, KKR is the only franchise that has retained its core group. This has not only given us two titles in last three years but also a loyal fan base. I think KKR belongs to Kolkata and Kolkata belongs to KKR with or without local talent. We’ll be with you when you celebrate the Poila Boishakh (Bangla new year) on April 15 or when you crib about long hours of power cuts in summers. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making us what we are today.
By the way Yuvraj Singh also tweeted on my “wardrobe malfunction”. His post read: “Now that actually looks like @gautamgambhir size bat.”
(Gautam Gambhir is the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper.)