Skipper Eoin Morgan says 'wins haven't been easy to come by' as KKR edges past PBKS

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan spoke about his team's hard-fought five-wicket win over Punjab Kings during their IPL 2021 clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. Morgan starred with the bat and helped KKR get over the line in what was a crucial match for the former champions.

'Wins haven't been easy to come by': Eoin Morgan

"Wins haven't been easy to come by. Have worked incredibly hard. Today, along with a bit of luck, the performance was very impressive, particularly with the ball upfront. When the wicket's like that - from the 12th over of our innings, the ball was sliding on", said Morgan during the post-match interview.

"The advantage we have over most spinners is that our spinners are variation bowlers. They don't rely on drift and turn. They control their lengths well and rely on a tiny amount of turn and today they were exceptional. Lot of time to go in the tournament. Hopefully, today can kick-start something for us", he added.

Eoin Morgan leads from the front, anchors KKR's chase

Coming back to the contest, KKR captain Eoin Morgan called it correctly at the toss and asked PBKS  to bat first. His decision was spot on as the 2014 finalists kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually ran out of fire and brimstone and despite fighting knocks from Chris Jordan and youngster Shahrukh Khan, they were restricted to 123/9 from their 20 overs.

Ín reply, Kolkata were reeling at 17/3 in the third over itself before Rahul Tripathi, and, Eoin Morgan carried out the rescue act with a 66-run stand for the fourth-wicket. Even after Tripathi's dismissal, Eoin Morgan carried on and successfully anchored KKR's run chase as they got over the line with 20 balls to spare. The two-time winners have now registered their second win of IPL 2021.

The England limited-overs skipper remained unbeaten on a 40-ball 47 at a strike rate of 117.50 that included four boundaries and two maximums. He was adjudged the Man of the Match for his stellar knock. 

(Twitter-@IPL)