RAJKOT: Gujarat Lions wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik duly credited KKR captain Gautam Gambhir and his fellow opener Chris Lynn for their exceptional batsmanship that saw them chase down a slightly above-par target of 184 with all 10 wickets intact.
"Scoreline doesn't justify the nature of the track and 183 was touch above par but credit to Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn," Karthik said at the post-match press conference.
"I do feel that they played exceptionally well but some of the shots they played were mind boggling. But I feel that we could have bowled better," he said.
Karthik said that he wasn't surprised with the new pairing as this was the first match for both teams.
"This was the first match of the tournament for both of us and don't know what they were going to do. We were open-minded and I don't think to be surprised about their opening pair," he said.
"What was surprising that we lost the game, they really batted well, they were hitting sixes even on the good balls, and at that time it's difficult for bowlers to pick up right area to bowl."
Karthik while defending Gujarat Lions bowler, said adding "It's very harsh that our bowlers didn't bowl well. He also defended Dwayne Smith, who gave away 23 runs in his one over and said "Dwayne Smith had done well last year for us but it was just a off day for whole team."
However, Karthik felt that Jadeja and Bravo could have made the difference.
"Jadeja and Bravo are irreplaceable players."
Karthik feels that nature of the tournament is such that one does not get too much time to focus on defeats.
"Getting ready after setback in less time is what IPL is all about. We have a next game against Hyderabad and want to start afresh, putting our best foot forward."