Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan said that their team gave their everything in the game against Rajasthan Royals on Friday, regardless of their qualification scenario in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Morgan said, “The most impressive thing about today was our collective bowling. I thought we were absolutely outstanding. Everybody, from Pat Cummins’ first over to all the way through to Kamlesh Nagarkoti’s final over. [We] really did commit and execute everything that we spoke about before the game. Given that we have given our everything to our performance today, the mood in the camp is good, regardless of qualification.”
Morgan said that 191 was a par score in conditions where there was no advantage in batting or bowling first as the dew came early. Owing to Morgan’s quickfire 68 off 35 balls and some blitz from all other batsman, KKR didn’t let the momentum slip when they were 100/5 at one point in time.
Asked about his game plan before going to bat, Morgan said that conditions were good to bat on and they were looking to be positive and thankfully managed to do that and post a good score, with contributions from Andre Russell and Rahul Tripathi as well.
KKR needed to restrict RR to 111 or below if they had to go past the net run rate (NRR) of Delhi Capitals or Royal Challengers Bangalore. Morgan said that their focus was on winning the game rather than on NRR, which is uncontrollable.
Pat Cummins was the chief destroyer for KKR as far as their bowling was concerned, as he took 4 wickets inside the powerplay to reduce the Royals to 37-5. Talking about Cummins’ spell, Morgan said, “Pat has been outstanding for us throughout the whole of the competition with the bat and the ball, which is been a huge attribute that he brings to our side. I think today really epitomised how well he’s been bowling, given that he takes the new ball up front and sets the tone.
Morgan also commended Dinesh Karthik for his flying catch behind the stumps to dismiss Ben Stokes, saying that wicket-keeping is one of the toughest, under-appreciated and overlooked jobs in cricket and he certainly made his presence felt.
KKR’s fate now depends upon the remaining two games in the league stage, since their NRR is a touch behind the Delhi Capitals. If RCB or DC lose by a big margin, KKR will qualify irrespective of the result between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, if SRH win and DC or RCB lose by the barest of margins, KKR will stand eliminated.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)