DD played better cricket: Gambhir

After being comprehensively beaten in their opening Indian Premier League fixture, Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Gautam Gambhir Thursday praised Delhi Daredevils by saying they played better cricket.

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"After starting off badly, we did play better to set a target of 98. However, Delhi played better and were the deserving winners," Gambhir said at the post match conference.

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He refused to blame the loss either on the toss or the truncated game.

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"These things are not in your hand. Of course, we too would have chosen to chase had we won the toss."u00a0

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Gambhir also had words of praise for local boys Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Debabrata Das who played well enough to take the Knight Riders to a respectable total.

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"In spite of being 34 for 4 we posted a challenging total. Shukla and Das both played well enough. They have been batting well in the nets and they are surely the players to watch out for," said Gambhir.

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He also hoped South African pacer Merchant de Lange, who gave 36 runs in his 3 overs, will come good in the later matches.

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Meanwhile, Irfan Pathan, who top scored in the match with a quick fire 42 to become the man of the match, said the wicket in the second half became better for stroke making.

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