KKR captain Gambhir thinks the England batsman was the reason the side triumphed over SunRisers Hyderabad.
Despite Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir being named Man of the Match in his side’s IPL victory over SunRisers Hyderabad on Sunday, the skipper believes it is in fact Eoin Morgan who deserves the credit.
Morgan was moved up the order for the game against Hyderabad to No.4 and put on 67 runs in 30 balls with South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, moving Gambhir to heap praise on the England batsman.
“We always believed he [Morgan] is a class act,” the Kolkata captain said on ESPNcricinfo.
“We thought of giving him some more time in the middle and thus pushed him up the order. He responded magnificently.”
Morgan has now scored 114 runs in four matches for the Knight Riders, second only in the franchise’s standings to Gambhir and it looks as though the Three Lions man is fast becoming a permanent fixture in the side.
In last year’s IPL the England big hitter failed to get a single game, finding it difficult to break into a winning team and earning his reputation as the most expensive water-boy in cricket due to his £230,000 price tag.
However, injury to regular Kolkata star Brendon McCullum at the start of the 2013 tournament meant Morgan was offered a chance to impress and he wasted no time in seizing his moment.
The batsman joined Kallis at the crease with his side 104-2 on Sunday and during his sturdy partnership with the big South African he smashed SunRisers’ bowler Thisara Perera for 22 runs off the 18th over.
The win has put KKR’s campaign back on track after back-to-back defeats in their two IPL fixtures before this victory and they now look in a stronger position to defend their title.
COMMENTS