IPL 2021 | Happy with how KKR adapted to new conditions, expresses Eoin Morgan

KKR and CSK played out the most capricious, volatile and nail-biting contest of IPL 2021 as after the Men in Yellow posted 220 batting first, the Knight Riders fell agonizingly short of pulling off a heist. At 31/5, KKR were staring at a thrashing, but otherworldly cameos from the trio of Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins took the side past 200, before they folded 18 runs short of the target owing to Cummins running out of partners. 

After flopping with the bat in each of their last two matches in Chennai, the KKR lower-order did the team proud with its showing today in Mumbai, and skipper Eoin Morgan expressed happiness over the same. Speaking in the post match presentation, Morgan said that the was proud of his team’s efforts and insisted that they did a fine job in adapting to alien conditions in Mumbai. 

“It's quite high at the moment [how's the pulse?] One hell of a game. Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik put a partnership together and following that Pat Cummins gave us every chance towards the end. Tremendous fight from the middle and lower order. You ride the emotions throughout the day. The first five overs of batting didn't go our way. We didn't play as well as we would've liked. We can be happy with [how we adapted to a] new ground, different challenges,” Morgan said at the post match presentation.

It was a tough night at the office for the KKR bowlers, who for the second game running conceded over 200. The CSK top-order took a liking to the KKR bowlers, and onslaughts from the trio of Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali saw the Knight Riders’ bowlers get pummeled on a Wankhede track that was a graveyard for bowlers. Morgan said that the flat wicket provided zero margin of error for the bowlers, and added that he empathised with KKR’s bowling unit. 

“Going back to it, I don't think there was any margin for error for the bowlers. We need to be kinder to the bowlers. You really need to be on the money.”

Despite losing the game, there was many a positive from the game for KKR, not least the form of Andre Russell. The Big Jamaican, walking in with the side’s back against its walls, smacked a bludgeoning 22-ball 54 to bat his team back into the game. Morgan expressed delight over Russell’s surge back into form but asserted that it was disappointing to not have any top-order batter lend support to the Big Jamaican.

“I tend to stay away from Dre after he gets out . It's great he's in this sort of form. Disappointing that the rest of us couldn't help him out.”

With the loss, KKR have now slipped to sixth position on the points table.