IPL 2021: All aspects of our game fell into place today - Eoin Morgan
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan has attributed his team’s five-wicket triumph over Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday to a professional all-round performance.
Fielding first after winning the toss at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, KKR restricted PBKS to 123 for 9. The two-time champions then chased down their modest target in 16.4 overs, with Eoin Morgan leading from the front with an unbeaten 47 off 40.
At a virtual press conference following KKR’s impressive win, Eoin Morgan observed that his team's improved performance across departments made the difference. Eoin Morgan said in this regard:
“In the previous game, we ebbed and flowed in different areas of the game. What we did really well today was combine bowling, batting and fielding to have a comprehensive win. Up until now, probably from the first match, we haven’t managed to do that. We bowled well in a few games and batted well in others and vice versa throughout the tournament. In such a high-standard tournament, where your performances need to be consistent, we cannot allow that to happen.”
Spinners were exceptional today: Eoin Morgan
While KKR were good in all departments on Monday, Eoin Morgan reserved special praise for his spinners, who had PBKS batsmen in a stranglehold all game. Sunil Narine claimed 2 for 22 in his four overs, while Varun Chakravarthy gave away only 24 and dismissed Nicholas Pooran.
Gushing about the performance of his team’s slow bowlers against PBKS, Eoin Morgan said:
“The advantage we have over most spinners is that we have variation spinners with drift and turn, and today they were exceptional.”
Eoin Morgan also hailed pacer Shivam Mavi, who bowled his four overs for 13 and dismissed Chris Gayle for a first-ball duck. The KKR captain said in this regard:
“Today our performance was really, really impressive, especially from our bowlers and the way we started and kept the pressure throughout. On a wicket like that, in 12th or 13th over, the ball continued to slide on and got better and better. (Shivam) Mavi was only in his second game this season, and bowling four together is something we don't do this often. His match-up against Gayle was favourable. He had started well last game, so huge credit to him.
Following their victory, KKR move to fifth place in the points table, winning two of their six games thus far.