Chasing a modest 141, the Mumbai outfit lost wickets at regular intervals to be shot out for 108 in 19.1 overs last night, thanks to the effort of the Kolkata bowlers.
West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine was unplayable and pushed Mumbai Indians to the brink with a superb haul of four for 15. And he was well-supported by Laxmipathy Balaji (2 for 11) and Jacques Kallis (2 for 42), while left arm spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Iqbal Abdulla too did their bit with a wicket each.
"We always felt 140-145 would be a good total. We had three quality spinners and the quality in bowling to contain them," said Gambhir after his side's 32-run win over the hosts that has virtually assured the Knight Riders a place in the play-offs.
"The way Shakib and Abdulla bowled was fantastic. The way Shakib bowled the first two overs out of the first six set up the game for us," he added.
Gambhir said the team can be a bit more relaxed now going into the final round robin match against the struggling Pune Warriors on May 19 at the latter's territory -- the Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium.
Stating that the Knight Riders' aim is to finish in the top two in the league table, Gambhir said, "It was a fine win, but we have a long way to go. It was a must-win game for us.
"Hopefully we can be a little relaxed, try to express ourselves more in the next game and finish among the top two, which gives us two cracks in the play-offs, which is very important.
"Last time we had one bad day in the play-off and were out of the tournament. Hopefully we can win the next game and finish in the top two which gives us two opportunities." (MORE)