'I am confident that he will come all right' - Brendon McCullum on Eoin Morgan's lean patch

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a five-wicket loss against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. After opting to bowl first, the KL Rahul-led PBKS chased down a stiff target of 166 with considerable ease. Rahul yet again was a star performer scoring 67, and laying a foundation for the fantastic win. This was a much-needed victory for the side after their two losses.

This victory has also taken PBKS to 10 points. Meanwhile, KKR have themselves to blame for the loss as they squandered a good start from opening batter Venkatesh Iyer, who scored a well-compiled 67. The middle-order batters Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, and Tim Seifert failed to contribute much, which led to KKR not finishing well in the end. Skipper Morgan’s lack of runs for KKR has hurt the franchise. So far, he has scores of 7, 8, 0, and 2, in the four games that he has batted in the UAE leg of the IPL.

During the post-match conference, head coach Brendon McCullum spoke about Eoin Morgan’s lack of runs and his importance to the team. “He is one of our senior players, he is one of our international batters, and our captain as well. He would love to contribute to lot more runs for the side. He has actually captained the side really well tactically. Look he also wants some runs and we also need runs from our overseas players, particularly in those key spots as well.

“I am confident that he will come all right and a couple of guys, which probably we can use more of. But some guys are going really well. I thought we played some really good cricket tonight,” McCullum said.

Punjab Kings deserved the win: Brendon McCullum

The KKR head coach further opined that PBKS deserved the win because they played consistent cricket throughout the match. “Look Punjab Kings deserved the win. I think they seized the key moments. But we certainly played a hand and had a good game of cricket.”

Although KKR lost the match, the one good thing for them is their net run rate is still on the higher side. The team currently has 10 points from 12 games.