Gambhir praises Morgan following KKR's impressive win ? Cricket News Update
Kolkata Knight Riders? skipper, Gautam Gambhir, praised the efforts of overseas Englishman, Eoin Morgan, following his side?s comprehensive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 17th of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
The reigning champions returned to winning ways with a straight forward victory in last day?s fixture, beating a listless Hyderabad side by a fair margin of 48 runs. Having opted to bat first on what was expected to be a slow pitch, KKR piled on a daunting 180-run total on the board.
The top-scorer for the team remained Gambhir, whose 18th IPL half-century is a new record. The left-hander further received the Player of the Match accolade but as always, was keep to praise the team, especially the efforts of Morgan, now a regular in the playing XI.
Having been benched for the entire winning campaign last year, Morgan is the team?s second-highest scorer so far, behind Gambhir, and again showed his class with a quick-fire47-run, which included 5 fours and three sixes. He was ably supported by veteran batsman Jacques Kallis, who ended up making 41.
Gambhir termed Morgan a class act and said the decision to move him up the order ( in place of Yusuf Pathan) proved fruitful.
"We always believed he [Morgan] is a class act," Gambhir said. "We thought of giving him some more time in the middle and thus pushed him up the order. He responded magnificently."
Chasing a mammoth target, Hyderabad never showed any real fight, and managed just 132 from their full quota of overs, with Kallis remaining the pick of the bowlers with impressive figures of 4 for 13.
Their coach, Tom Moody, rued his side?s poor showing in the final few overs, during which Morgan and Kallis added 67 runs in 30 balls.
"Our defensive skills were never as sharp as they can be," Moody said. "It was not a 180 runs wicket but we allowed the hosts to put an imposing total."
Sunrisers will be hoping to improve their showings when they take on Pune Warriors in their next game. As for KKR, they will be aiming to keep their run going when they play underperforming Kings XI Punjab franchise on April 16.
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