KKR captain Eoin Morgan praised his players after they defeated SRH by 10 runs on Sunday night.
Follow Us
IPL 2021: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan lauded his top order batsmen after their 10-run win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their first match of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Today was quite magnificent the way the guys at the top of the order batted. Nitish (Rana) and (Rahul) Tripathi were absolutely outstanding and set up the game for our middle order to play in the manner we want to play,” said Morgan in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Not just the captain, even the franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan tweeted congratulating the players from Kolkata Knight Riders on an impeccable performance.
SRH captain David Warner won the toss and chose to bowl against Kolkata. Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill set the foundation for the team. The duo ensured a 50-plus partnership for the opening wicket.
Gill scored 15 but Rana kept going and slammed a half-century. In his first match itself, Rana chased a century for himself but perished for 80.
Rana was backed by Rahul Tripathi who also scored a fine half-century. A late but Dinesh Karthik (22 off nine balls) helped KKR to a competitive total of 187 for six from their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, SRH lost their skipper Warner and Saha in the early overs of the game. Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow scored half-centuries to keep their side’s sope alive but KKR bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals. SRH eventually fell 10 runs short of reaching the desired 188 run target set for them.
Morgan also appreciated the bowling unit since they gave a good start to their defence. “Certainly the bowling, we couldn’t have asked for a better start. Chopped and changed a bit in the powerplay. Huge amount of structure that goes into the decisions on the field. We have got a fantastic head coach in (Brendon) McCullum,” said Morgan.
“Main job is to get the best out of the squad. IPL is all about the results and that comes when guys buy into what we want to do,” he further said.
Rishabh Pant's explosive last-over blitz ignites IPL 2024 amid T20 World Cup comeback talks
