It’s very satisfying for an individual when he contributes to his team’s cause in must-win situations and I am very happy with the way things went for me en route to my highest T20 score, writes Chris Gayle in his column in The Times Of India, adding that another satisfying aspect is the fact that once again I have been able to entertain the fans with my batting.
“You don’t hit 13 sixes everyday, so I will cherish this knock,” writes Gayle, adding that having Virat at the other end helped him play more freely and he played an excellent supporting hand.
“Virat did a commendable job as a leader, he kept his cool, shuffled the bowlers well and eventually we got a 21-run win.”
Meanwhile Sunil Gavaskar writes in TOI that Delhi were blown away by Gayle and the Bangalore team would be happy to see the way Kohli was striking the ball.
“Maybe, now that Delhi have qualified the intensity is not quite there, but form can be elusive if trifled with and in a knockout match there are seldom any comebacks. The Delhi pace attack is a formidable one and will enjoy bowling in the cooler climes of Dharamsala. Delhi did seem a touch relaxed against Bangalore, but they won’t drop their guard against the Punjab team because another loss will dent their confidence and also send a signal that they are beatable,” writes Gavaskar.
Meanwhile a Hindustan Times report says that small sports management companies do ‘facilitate’ interaction between fixers and players contracted to them, but most of these agencies claim they do it unknowingly.
Since these companies hire cricketers at the very beginning on a “3+3 contract” — three years of investment and three years of earning — they don’t mind introducing players to bettors. “I introduced a number of top India cricketers to many people, but I didn’t know that some of them had dubious track records,” an agent told HT on condition of anonymity.
