Shubman Gill (70 n.o.) and Eoin Morgan (42 n.o.) starred as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured two points following their seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the eighth match of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Needing 143 runs to win, KKR lost Sunil Narine in the second over as David Warner held on to a catch off Khaleel Ahmed’s bowling. Nitish Rana and Gill, though, scored at a brisk pace, taking on the SRH pacers.
However, their 21-ball 37-run partnership was broken as T Natarajan dismissed Rana after the left-hander had scored a quickfire 26. Dinesh Karthik was the next man to get out as Rashid Khan got him out LBW soon after KKR crossed their fifty.
With KKR needing a big partnership, Eoin Morgan then joined Gill in the middle.
While the duo did not play too many big shots, they kept the scorecard ticking, with Gill cashing in on every scoring opportunity, and made sure that KKR did not lose any wicket.
In the 13th over, the stylish right-handed batsman brought up his fifty with a four as KKR moved closer to 100.
Two overs later, Gill and Morgan completed fifty-run stand. Morgan then hit a six and a four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid respectively.
While Gill, then hit a six off Abhishek Sharma, Morgan, who scored an unbeaten 42, closed out the game, hitting a six and a four to help KKR cross the finish line with two overs to spare.
Earlier, after electing to bat, SRH posted 142/4 on the board on the back of Manish Pandey’s 51.
KKR kept the things tight in the powerplay. While Jonny Bairstow managed to survive an a caught-behind appeal, courtesy DRS, on the fifth ball of the 4th over, he departed on the next delivery after Pat Cummins disturbed the timber.
Pandey then welcomed Shivam Mavi into the attack, hitting a six in his first over. But KKR largely managed to keep SRH in check as Varun Chakravarthy got his first IPL wicket as he got David Warner out, caught and bowled.
Wriddhiman Saha then joined Pandey in the middle and the two added 62 runs together to push KKR past 120. However, Pandey, soon after bringing up his fifty and looking to add some quick runs, got out in the 18th over as Andre Russell gave their third wicket.
Saha then perished in the final over as KKR managed to restrict SRH to 142/4.
Morgan heaped praise on young Indian opener Gill.
Gill top-scored with 70 off 62 deliveries and the left-handed Morgan hit the winning boundary in his 29-ball 42 as Kolkata recorded their first victory in two matches.
“I didn’t have to tell Gill a great deal to be honest, beautiful to watch,” Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, said of his 21-year-old batting partner who was named man of the match.
“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.”
Kolkata’s Australian paceman Pat Cummins returned impressive figures of 1-19 from his four overs to help keep down Hyderabad to 142 for four.
Cummins — the most expensive foreign player for the 2020 season with a $2.17mn fee — got Jonny Bairstow bowled for five and kept down the lid on Hyderabad scoring with an economy rate of 4.75.
“Patty Cummins, as he does, (bowled) Test match line and length,” said Warner, who made 36.
Brief Scores
Kolkata Knight Riders 145/3 (Shubman Gill 70*, Eoin Morgan 42*; Rashid Khan 1/25) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 142/4 (Manish Pandey 51, David Warner 36; Pat Cummins 1/19) by 7 wickets
Shubman Gill of Kolkata Knight Riders raises his bat after reaching his fifty against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi yesterday. PICTURE: Sportzpics for BCCI
