IPL 2020: KKR’s Eoin Morgan reacts to batting at no.6 against DC in Sharjah

Though he isn’t currently the top run-scorer for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), Eoin Morgan can be deemed as their most fluent batter thus far. After faltering against the Mumbai Indians (MI), England’s limited-overs captain has found his mojo with the bat in hand. At present, he has 136 runs at an average and strike-rate of 68 and 151.11 respectively.

However, despite the rich vein of form, he came to bat at no.6 in KKR’s previous match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday, October 3 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. KKR were chasing 229 and when Morgan came in, the team needed 112 runs from 44 deliveries.

Morgan scored 44 off 18 balls with one four and five sixes before Anrich Nortje accounted for his wicket. However, on being asked about the reason to bat lower down, Morgan said that it wasn’t wrong since the Knights have match-winners in their ranks.

“No, I don’t think so. When you look at the batting lineup, there are a number of match-winners in that lineup,” Morgan was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

Russell is an incredible striker of the ball, says Eoin Morgan

Bearing in mind the massive target, KKR promoted Andre Russell to bat at no.4. Dre-Russ started by smashing Kagiso Rabada for a six and a four in the ninth over. But he perished in the same over after getting a top-edge, caught by Nortje.

Morgan lauded the Jamaican Russell for his brute force and reckoned that he’s someone, who can bat higher up the batting order.

“It’s very difficult one to sort of get up the order particularly (when you have) world-class batsman, allrounder Andre Russell. He’s an incredible striker of the ball. When he comes up the order, everybody shifts down a little bit,” he added.

After KKR lost their sixth wicket, Morgan stitched together a 78 run-stand with Rahul Tripathi off a mere 30 balls to keep his team in the hunt. But after he got out, the Knights lost momentum. Tripathi also notched a 16-ball 36, but his valiant efforts went in vain as KKR ended on 210 for eight in 20 overs.