Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan on Wednesday (October 21) regretted his decision to elect to bat first after winning the toss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 clash at Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Morgan admitted his mistake after KKR’s 8-wicket loss against RCB. Batting first, KKR scored only 84 runs in their allotted quota of 20 overs. It is to be noted that this is the lowest total scored by any franchise in IPL 2020 and also the lowest-ever total by a team in IPL after batting for 20 overs.
“I think it started with batting. Being four or five down as early as we were is disappointing. RCB bowled well, but we should have countered that better. and with that dew, we probably should have bowled first,” Morgan said after the match.
KKR have won 5 out of the 10 matches they have played so far in IPL 2020 and are currently at the 4th position on IPL 2020 points table. KKR will have to perform very well in their remaining matches to reach the playoff stage as cKXIP and RR are just 2 points behind them.
“We have been consistent with our selections of the top three, we believe they are the ones to take us forward. They have shown potential. So it was important to back the Indian batsmen,” Morgan said about Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana.
KKR took to the field without Andre Russell and Sunil Narine for the first time since 2012 and the absence of these players played a major role in KKR’s defeat against RCB, according to Morgan. He added that both Narine and Russell are good all-rounders and their absence from the playing XI is a “big hole”.
“Hopefully Russell or Narine will be fit and available around the corner. Two guys of that calibre, particularly when they are allrounders, is a big hole. Hopefully they will be available down the line,” Morgan said.
KKR will next play against Delhi Capitals on October 24.
