Going by the numbers on the shirts of thousands of fans, Friday’s IPL contest here was between (Sachin) Tendulkar’s No.10 and (Shah Rukh) Khan’s No.12.

It turned out to be a no-contest with the Mumbai Indians thrashing the Kolkata Knight Riders before a packed and delirious Wankhede.

The massive defeat, though, didn’t dishearten owner Shah Rukh.

“A bad defeat, yes, but the way forward is to forget about today and look ahead to Sunday and the match against the Chennai Super Kings,” Shah Rukh told The Telegraph.

As is customary for him, Shah Rukh went to the Mumbai Indians’ dressing room and congratulated the winners. In fact, he left the Wankhede after the teams.

Shah Rukh, by the way, said that there would be no party in the hours immediately after the match.

“Not because we lost, but because John (Buchanan, coach) didn’t want one tonight... As tomorrow (Saturday) is a day of travel, he made this request a couple of days ago. That’s why, for a change, we had a party on the eve of the match...”

Incidentally, Shah Rukh may rush back to Mumbai after Sunday’s match at the Eden as he has plenty of non-IPL commitments to keep.

A handsome Knight Riders’ win could, however, hold him back.



TheTelegraphIndia

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The Kolkata Knight Riders’ rout at the Wankhede on Friday night notwithstanding, owner Shah Rukh Khan kept his appointment with The Telegraph. That, in fact, delayed his departure from the stadium. Shah Rukh, though, didn’t mind.

The following are excerpts

Friday having been a bad day in office for his team

I’m an actor first and my day’s shoot went off well... I had a good-shoot day... It wasn’t a bad day in office for me personally...

The Knight Riders’ poor show

Yeah... The team got taken apart, but these things happen... Some teams do end up losing badly... Of course, it’s sad when that happens to your own team.

Whether there’s more disappointment that the huge defeat occurred in Mumbai, his base

No... I don’t have this regional issue with the team... I don’t believe in that (regionalism). What’s more disappointing is that we’ve lost both matches to the Mumbai Indians... It’s not a good thing and we should’ve been able to cover our weaknesses (after the first-leg loss, at the Eden, on April 29)... There are technical issues involved, but the bottomline is that it’s not nice to lose to any team.

His take on what went wrong

It was a good toss to win and even we’d planned to put the opposition in... With the ball doing a lot, it had to be a low scoring match... However, there’s little that you can do if the team totals no more than 67... No matter how potent your bowling, I don’t think you can defend that small a total... What’s heartening is that the boys didn’t give up.

The next match, against the Chennai Super Kings, being as early as Sunday

First, the players have to leave Friday’s defeat behind in Mumbai... One way of dealing with such losses is to say ‘oh shit’ and walk with heads down... The other way is to look ahead and get over it quickly... There’s concern in the team, yes... Having said that, we’ve won five and lost five... It’s a 50-50 percentage and the IPL isn’t over for the Knight Riders.

His stand at the post-match team meeting

It’s not for me to tell the players (about cricket)... I just cheered them up and asked them to focus on Sunday’s match. I sat with them, reinforcing that I’m with them in good times and bad.

The one-on-one with Shoaib Akhtar in the dressing room

I didn’t have anything special to say, just asked him to cheer up and quickly get the defeat, embarrassing though it was, out of his system.

Realistically, how soon can teams and individuals recover from an awful day in office

I’d be up for it the very next morning... I’ve always maintained that triumph and disaster are imposters... You need to leave both behind very fast... If you do badly, take it like a man... Take it on your chin and fight back.

Whether a lot more friends from the industry turned up to cheer the Knight Riders

I really don’t know who came and who didn’t... I was in the stands for a brief while and then came and sat with the boys... Everything kept happening so quickly! (Wife) Gauri would know exactly who came.

Two oldies, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, making the biggest impact for the Mumbai Indians in their last couple of matches

I think they needed time to settle down in the Twenty20 format, just like Sourav Ganguly required time... They’ve adapted themselves and it’s because they learn so quickly that they’re such great and classy players... They work out strategies which suit them.

Whether Jayasuriya and Pollock, in particular, have proved that class matters the most

I’m 42 and I’m the reigning superstar... Some people tell me I’m too old to be romancing... It all boils down to how you handle stress-situations... How you adapt... Essentially, how you reinvent yourself... Obviously, the guys who didn’t have much of a Twenty20 exposure have reinvented themselves and have done well in the IPL.

Finally, on many women (not to speak of girls) wanting to queue up for a hug from him — inspired by 85-year-old Rama Chatterjee’s experience at The Sonar on Wednesday

(Laughs) It’s not possible to hug everybody, but I do try and meet as many fans as possible. Try and keep as many happy as is possible.



TheTelegraphIndia

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