"Shuru hote hi khatam hogaya!"- Fans troll Eoin Morgan and KKR for batting failure
Eoin Morgan getting run-out for a diamond duck exactly summed up Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) innings against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). KKR never really built any momentum while batting and finished with just a modest total of 133-9 on a batting paradise at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
RR bowlers were absolutely sensational with their change of pace and other variations to which the KKR batsmen had extreme difficulty adjusting. Eoin Morgan made numerous changes to his batting order but it came to no avail as RR would be highly confident of chasing this total down.
Twitter reacts to Eoin Morgan's KKR failing with the bat
KKR fans have been frustrated with their team's inconsistent form ever since former skipper Gautam Gambhir left the franchise in 2018. Neither Dinesh Karthik nor Eoin Morgan have been able to carry forward Gambhir's legacy.
Others took a dig at how unlucky Eoin Morgan was to get a run-out on a diamond duck without even facing a delivery. They believe KKR are in a downward spiral and only a miracle can save their season. Here's how Twitter reacted:
Shubman Gill's struggles at the top of the order continued as he was run-out through a brilliant direct-hit from Jos Buttler. Nitish Rana couldn't carry his good form forward as he too departed playing a false shot.
KKR's middle-order had to go through another stern test after they collapsed against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, they didn't seem to have learned from their mistakes as the likes of Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, etc. also failed to make any impact.
Another alarming decision from Eoin Morgan was to keep their big-hitter Andre Russell in the shed until KKR were five down. By the time Russell arrived, KKR needed a miraculous effort to reach a competitive total in the range of 150-160.
The likes of Chris Morris, Chetan Skariya and Mustafizur Rahman were brilliant with their variations at the death and KKR simply couldn't get a fighting total on the board. On a pitch where even 200 isn't a safe score, 134 looks like a target well within RR's grasp.