Very lucky to have Narine and Chakravarthy, they are impact players: Morgan
Oct 04, 2021
Dubai [UAE], October 4 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Eoin Morgan said that he is confident of returning to form and giving match-winning performances for his franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season.
Shubman Gill played a knock of 57 runs as KKR defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets with two balls to spare here at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. With this win, KKR consolidated its position at the fourth spot and the side now has 12 points from 13 games.
"I think two big impact players for us (Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine). We are very lucky to have them, particularly Sunil Narine, he has been a huge part of this franchise for a long time, an integral part of KKR's success. Game on game basis, you have a look at where they can have the biggest impact in the game and you try to get them in that position," said Morgan while replying to an ANI query during a virtual post-match press conference.
"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," he added.
Talking about his own form, Morgan said: "Yeah, I am short on runs in the whole tournament. I am very lucky to be in this position but I have been through these kinds of stages in my career. The longer you go without contributing, the closer you are to actually contributing. That is just coming from experience."
Earlier, a spirited bowling performance helped KKR restrict SRH to 115/8 in the allotted twenty overs. For Eoin Morgan-led side, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy returned with two wickets each while for SRH, Kane Williamson top-scored with a knock of 26 runs.
"I think the purpose of T20 cricket is to be our most entertaining format, to make it appealing to a wider audience. That element of pure cricket was in the wicket for the match against SRH. If the bowlers bowled in the right areas, they got their due reward and the batters had to work a little bit harder. Sometimes in T20 cricket, it is good to have that element," said Morgan.
"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 shown promise. On a tricky wicket against SRH, he made it look quite easy," he added.
KKR will next square off against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.