Eoin Morgan has said that Kolkata Knight Riders need to put in a complete performance with bat and ball and not be inconsistent in IPL 2021.
Follow Us
Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered from inconsistency with both bat and ball in IPL 2021. With the bat, they struggled on the sluggish surfaces in Chennai, failing to chase down 31 off 30 balls against Mumbai Indians. The bowling was taken to the cleaners by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings. The batting once again failed in the game against Rajasthan Royals. However, against Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders finally put in the near-perfect game as they snapped their four-game losing streak in style. The five-wicket win has helped them come off the bottom.
In the post-match press conference, Eoin Morgan said Kolkata Knight Riders had to show consistency in both bat and ball if they have to stake a claim for a spot in the playoffs that is now starting to take shape. “The previous games we ebbed and flowed in some games. We did well in combining our batting, bowling and fielding. Probably from the first match till now, we did not do that. In the past, we bowled well but did not bat well and vice versa. In a high-class tournament, this will prove to be costly,” Morgan said.
Kolkata Knight Riders had a fantastic day with the ball. Pat Cummins sent back KL Rahul, the Punjab Kings skipper but Shivam Mavi got the big wicket of Chris Gayle for a golden duck. Sunil Narine and Prasidh Krishna chipped in with wickets at regular intervals. It was this kind of performance with the ball that Morgan demanded from the side as they looked to build momentum.
“Up until now, the team has gone through tough times. We had a really slow start to IPL. We have not had a little bit of luck to need. The performance tonight showed how the group wanted to play. The display with the ball was what we needed as a group. Building on tonight’s performance will be key,” Morgan said.
Morgan hailed the performance of Shivam Mavi and the spinners on a wicket that was providing ample assistance. “The match-up against Gayle was favourable. He bowled well in the last game and started well here. For him to make an impact is huge, credit to him. The advantage we have over most spinners is that our spinners are variation bowlers. They don’t rely on drift and turn. They control their lengths well and rely on a tiny amount of turn and today they were exceptional,” Morgan said.
