IPL 2020: Chris Morris proud of his team-mates for making it a close contest despite loss

Despite the loss against Punjab, Bangalore all-rounder Chris Morris said that he is proud of his teammates for giving their all in the game and finishing the match close. The three-time finalists lost a hard-fought game against the 2014 runners-up at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium by eight wickets on Thursday night. 

'Proud of the boys for sticking there': Chris Morris

"We had enough, maybe we leaked few boundaries, maybe our gameplan was slightly wrong but for us to to get to the last over to the last ball quite proud of the boys for sticking there when the game was completely gone by the time second last over was bowled," Morris said in the post-match press conference.

Nicholas Pooran helps Punjab steal a last-ball thriller

Punjab skipper KL Rahul played a sheet anchor's role to perfection as he scored an unbeaten match-winning 49-ball 61 at a strike rate of 124.49 including a boundary and five maximums. He was ably supported by the 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle (45-ball 53) who was playing his first match of this season.

Even though it seemed that Punjab would lose their way in the final over after Gayle's run out, Nicholas Pooran completed the formalities by clobbering Yuzvendra Chahal into the stands on the final ball of the contest. Earlier, Bangalore were restricted to 171/6 in their 20 overs riding on skipper Virat Kohli's brilliant 39-ball 48 after winning the toss and electing to bat first on a difficult wicket. 

Despite their close defeat on Thursday, Virat Kohli & Co. continue to remain at the third spot in the points table with 10 points from eight matches. However, they will be hoping to rediscover their rhythm and get back to winning ways when they lock horns with the inaugural edition's champions Rajasthan at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday. 

(Image Courtesy: PTI)

(With ANI Inputs)