Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by seven wickets in the 8th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Abu Dhabi on Saturday (September 26).
After asked to bat first, KKR put up a disciplined effort with Pat Cummins brilliantly leading the bowling attack to restrict David Warner & Co. to a modest total of 142/4. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy also performed well with the ball.
In reply, Knight Riders rode on their young opener Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 62-ball 70 and Eoin Morgan’s 29-ball 42* to overhaul the target with two overs to spare. Batting at No. 3, left-handed batsman Nitish Raina also played a valuable cameo of 26 runs.
Morgan was asked about Gill in the post-match presentation, and the England captain had nothing but praise for the 21-year-old, who he termed ‘magnificent’ to watch. Morgan even said that he would love to bat with Gill once again.
“I didn’t have to tell him a great deal, to be honest, he’s beautiful to watch on the eye, good bat swing, very languid style, magnificent to watch, he’s good kid, very hungry to learn and I would love to bat with him once again. I think he deserves all the success,” said Morgan.
Gill, the young Indian batsman who was named the ‘Player of the Match’, acknowledged that the batting conditions did help.
“I think the ball wasn’t spinning much and was easy to hit down the ground. I have practiced power hitting in the last couple of years. We bowled really and we had to back it up with a good performance.”
“There weren’t any long conversations with Morgan. We were just trying to anticipate what the bowlers can try and do. As an opener it is my duty to see my team through,” Gill said after the match.
One for the future! ✨🌟
@RealShubmanGill was in fantastic touch tonight and deservedly picks up the Man of the Match award! 💯#KKRvSRH #KKRHaiTaiyaar #Dream11IPL @AstralPipes pic.twitter.com/CoelM1hSP2
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 26, 2020
It was KKR’s first victory in this year’s IPL after a 49-run thrashing in their opening game against defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI).
KKR will face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their next game on September 30 in Dubai.
