Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan is the first one to admit that he has been woefully short of runs throughout the IPL 2021 but is confident of finding some form with the tournament hitting the business end. (More Cricket News)
KKR are currently placed fourth with 12 points from 13 games and with a positive net run-rate will just need to win their final game to qualify for the playoffs along with CSK, Delhi Capitals and RCB.
“Yeah, I am short of runs in this phase of the tournament, the whole tournament in general. I am very lucky to be in a position where I have been through stages like this in my career,” Morgan said after KKR’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
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“And I think the longer you go without contributing a significant score, the closer you are to actually contributing. And that’s coming from experience,” said Morgan, who scored a total of 111 from 12 innings with the highest score of 47 not out.
Speaking about Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, who have had a key role in KKR, he said the team was very lucky to have them.
“I think they are the two big impact players for us (Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine). We are very lucky to have them, particularly Narine. He has been a huge part of the franchise for a long time, an integral part of KKR’s success.
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“Game on game basis, you have to look at where they can have the biggest impact in the game and you try to get them in that position,” Morgan added. Morgan was all praise for the bowling group, who restricted SRH to 115.
“The match against SRH was a good example, we are fortunate enough that the other guys in our bowling group bowled extremely well and that allowed us to juggle things around,” the KKR captain added.
The KKR captain said veteran New Zealand cricketer Tim Southee has had a good impact in the absence of key players like Andre Russell, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins and the others.
“Tim’s obviously had a huge impact in the side, When you miss two or three big gun players - we miss Pat, we miss Lockie, and obviously Dre (Russell) has been missing as well. His contribution with the ball in this phase has been brilliant,” he added.
Morgan praised opener Shubman Gill, who made a match-winning half-century on a sluggish track and said he has shown a great amount of promise.
“I am delighted for Shubman Gill. He has shown a great amount of promise in all formats of the game. Probably over the last two IPLs, he has continued to show promise. On a tricky wicket today, he made it look easy. His true class shone through...,” the skipper said of the young Indian batter.
