Eoin Morgan was an elated captain after Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) “most complete performance” of this season in the win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 24).
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KKR produced an all-round performance to thrash DC by 59 runs, which was their 6th victory in the IPL 2020 from 11 games.
Asked to bat first, Knight Riders piled up a massive 194/6 in 20 overs on the back of Nitish Rana’s 53-ball 81 and Sunil Narine’s 32-ball 64.
Defending the total, KKR restricted DC to 135/9 as leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy (5-20) and speedster Pat Cummins (3-17) ran through the opposition’s batting line-up.
“I think the timing of this couldn’t be any better. Playing against a side who are second coming towards the business end of the tournament, two points is huge,” Morgan said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
“We had the most complete performance as a group in this tournament so far. Until today, we feel as if we hadn’t played our best cricket. Today I think it was close to that,” he added.
At one stage, KKR were reeling at 42/3 but the duo of Rana and Narine shared a 115-run stand to put the team in a commanding position.
Playing his first match after being cleared of suspect bowling action, Narine batted at five and attacked the Delhi bowlers from the outset.
“…I think that rubbed off on Nitish Rana as well. Watching them play with the freedom that they did was outstanding.”
“Sunil has been an integral part of this franchise for a number of years now. His ability as an all-rounder is key in our team.
“To have him back and come in and perform not only with the ball but with the bat, I think is outstanding. He has just proved how valuable he is to the team,” Morgan said.
Promotion to open the innings did wonder for left-handed Rana and the KKR skipper had special praise reserved for him.
“This now can be the start of his campaign taking things forward. Today, against one of the best bowling lineups in the tournament, he played absolutely outstanding,” Morgan remarked.
He also spoke very highly of Varun Chakravarthy, who claimed the first five-wicket haul of this season.
“He has gelled really well in the team. I think he’s been one of the positive stories out of our campaign so far,” Morgan said.
