We have given everything in this game: Eoin Morgan

It was collective bowling performance today. Right from the first over from (Pat) Cummins to the final over from (Kamlesh) Nagarkoti, we executed our plans and given our best performance.

Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders crushed Rajasthan Royals by 60 runs in a must-win game to stay afloat and captain Eoin Morgan was delighted to see everyone in the squad chip in. However, their qualification is not yet guaranteed as their progress will depend on the final league match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. The World Cup-winning captain acknowledged the fact and said the things are not in their control anymore but to hope for the best.

“It was collective bowling performance today. Right from the first over from (Pat) Cummins to the final over from (Kamlesh) Nagarkoti, we executed our plans and given our best performance. Regardless of the qualification we have given our everything in this game,” said the English cricketer after the win.

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Morgan himself contributed to the team’s big total of 191/7 with an unbeaten 68 after losing wickets in the middle. Speaking about his knock, he said, “Given how good the conditions were, we thought we needed to take a few balls and then attack. There were a number of batsmen helping post 190 runs on the board. I think it is a matter of coming into the game and keeping things simple and focus on winning the team.”

Cummins went for 19 runs in the first over but took the wicket of Robin Uthappa. He then came back to bag three more wickets to return with figures of 4/34 that helped KKR to restrict Royals to 131/9 in 20 overs. Speaking on Cummin’s show, the southpaw said, “Pat has been outstanding throughout with bat and ball which is a huge advantage he brings to our side. Today, he bowled well given that he takes new ball sets the tone as he does for Australia.”

He also lauded Dinesh Karthik who took an outstanding catch to dismiss Ben Stokes of Cummins. “DK really had a remunerable day behind the stumps. It is one of the toughest jobs that goes unnoticed. He had an outstanding catch to send Stokes.”
On asked whether he would be keeping an eye on the remaining league matches that would decide their fate, he said “There is nothing we can control at this point of time. My family is here and I am looking to spend quality time with them.”

Meanwhile, Royals’ coach Andrew McDonald said losing five wickets in powerplay dented their chances. “Today’s performance was below par. We didn’t go well after losing five wickets in powerplay. There was no foundation to chase down the big target. There was a lot of dew so we thought we could chase down the total but unfortunately lost wickets in the heap,” he said.

He also blamed that they were inconsistent throughout the tournament. “The cricket we played throughout the tournament was inconsistent. The match against RCB, we could have defended 30 odd runs in last two overs but AB de Villiers took the game away from us and we had to chase against Delhi needing 38 of 30 with six wickets in hand we didn’t win. But we could not chase. So we had our opportunities”

However, he said they had some good performances from players which augur well for the future. “Jofra (Archer) clearly was outstanding. His ability to take wickets up front and in the field with bat as well, he was great. (Karthik) Tyagi coming onto the big stage, held his nerves and bowled some good death overs. Rahul Tewatia also had a good impact on the the game.”

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