Morne Morkel dropping my catch was the turning point says Chris Gayle

Morne Morkel dropping my catch was the turning point says Chris Gayle: A blistering 56-ball 96 from Chris Gayle helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), defeat the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and to start their Indian Premier League (IPL) hunt with a victory, away from home. Chris Gayle, who was awarded the Man of the Match for his match winning knock of 96 said one of the turning points of the match was surely, when he was dropped by South African player Morne Morkel while he was batting on 63.

He also credited his team-mate Harshal Patel for his efforts and the meaty blow that he landed into the stands off Sunil Narine’s bowling. Gayle after being awarded the MOM at the post match presentation said, “One of the turning points of the game was Morne dropping my catch…apart from it the other turning point came when I told Patel to hit one of the six off the last two deliveries off Narine’s final over. He missed out on the first one and I told him to go again. He then hit the last one out of the park,”

It was also discovered later that it was Chris’s Mom’s birthday and he ‘dedicated’ his innings to his mother. “Happy Birthday to Mom, hope she’s watching and I wish you many more,
this was for you,” he said.

Gayle also had a word of advice for Abu Nechim and Patel after he got out. “I just told them to hang in there and not panic. I am happy to come out winning this time,”

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli termed it as one of their better wins in the tournament as it was a close game and they made sure it ended their way. A delighted Kohli said, “That’s probably one of our better wins. We spoke about playing fearless cricket and the boys backed each other. The two bowlers won it in the end,”

The skipper also said, “The way Chris batted, he shows what a world class player he is. Starc and Milne are not playing us for now. The youngsters are playing and from their point of view, it is a great win. It is great that we won our first game away from home as we now have three at home.
Were the boys nervous initially to start off with? Virat said, “The guys were probably a bit nervous in the beginning and the outfield didn’t help them either. But, their comeback in the end was great,”

KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir also talked about the importance of the chance and that the missed catch of Gayle costed them the game. Gambhir said, “If you drop someone like Chris Gayle,he will make you pay.He was also lucky on a number of occasions. Sometimes he mishit the ball and it didn’t go into someone’s hands. If you keep dropping catches, someone like Chris will hurt you,”