Abu Dhabi:Ā Kolkata kept themselves alive with a chance for playoffs after crushing Rajasthan Royals by 60 runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan finally came to the party with a blistering 68 off 35 balls to lead his team to 191/7 in a decisive Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. In reply Rajasthan managed just 131 with Cummins taking four wickets.
A happy KKR captain Eoin Morgan, said, ‘ I thought it was around a par score. Every batsman who came back in and said that it was a beautiful wicket with the dew in. We lost wickets between 10th and 15th overs, and to finish like we did was really good. We were out there to be play a free-flowing style of cricket. That was the only way we were going to win. Especially with the dew factor expected anyways, irrespective of when it came. Bringing out Dre Russ in meant that it took the conditions out of the equation. We backed the guys to take a bit of risk even if it wasn’t there. That was one thing we talked about, leading into this game. We felt that a hard length or a good length was the best spot to bowl. We tried to execute that in the first six overs and I thought Mavi was outstanding. Obviously Pat set the tone early on.’
Pat Cummins, Man of the Match: (On going for 19 in the first over) A lot goes through your mind. First few balls weren’t great. As long as you go back to bowling your best balls, it’s alright. Top of off is always that area for me, there was a bit early in there with the new ball. So, I was trying to get as many in there as I can. Not really, don’t think I expected to get all wickets like that. Some days you bowl well and don’t get luck, some days you get a bit of luck as well. Today, everything fell into place. I guess early on in the season, I put a lot of pressure on myself. As the tournament has gone on, I’ve got better and better. You’re always learning.