IPL 2020: 'We weren’t in the race at all really' says Eoin Morgan after a one-sided loss

Kolkata's newly appointed skipper Eoin Morgan said that his team wasn’t in the race at all after they had lost their top-order very early during their Dream11 IPL 2020 match against the title-holders Mumbai at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday. Mumbai beat the former champions by eight wickets to achieve the 'Numero Uno' spot in the points table. 

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the two-time winners were in a spot of bother when leggie Rahul Chahar accounted for a well-set Shubman Gill and Dinesh Karthik off successive deliveries in the 8th over. With Kolkata reeling at 61/5, skipper Eoin Morgan (39) and Pat Cummins (53) added 87 runs for the sixth-wicket stand as they posted a respective total of 148/5 in their 20 overs.

In reply, captain Rohit Sharma & Quinton de Kock made it a one-sided affair with a 94-run opening stand. The wicket-keeper batsman remained unbeaten on a 44-ball 78 as the four-time champions got past the finish line with more than three overs to spare.

'We weren’t in the race at all really': Eoin Morgan

"We weren’t in the race at all really, being four or five down. Managed to get a score on the board but when Mumbai play like that, they are hard to stop. Guys fought hard but just not enough runs on the board. No.4, 5, and 6 we have a lot of experience. We’re trying to adapt according to the situations. Don’t think it would have made much difference today", said Morgan during the post-match presentation.

His opposite number Rohit Sharma said that the win has given them plenty of confidence.

"It's special to chase and win, gives us plenty of confidence. We didn't chase a lot in the first half, think we were clinical with both bat and ball, the expected performance was there. I thought we turned up very well, right from the start. I believe a lot in match-ups, we have got success as a team. Understanding the match-ups is important but we need to be instinctive at times. Krunal and Rahul also bowled to Russell, I took a chance with the ball gripping and turning, but I knew Bumrah was the go-to guy against him. I prefer batting with him (Quinton de Kock). He's very straightforward, likes to take on the bowler from the word go - but I usually like to assess the situation. Will let him play the way he wants to, don't want to put any pressure on him. This tournament is very funny, can't take the foot off the pedal at any time, we have seen teams lose at times. The guys are very hungry, they haven't played a lot over the last six months - be it Ishan or Hardik, they want to play and they want to win", he said.

Quinton de Kock, who was adjudged the Man of the Match award for playing a sheet anchor's role to perfection said he was happy that one of his best shots came off when it actually mattered the most.

"To be honest, I'm not very sure - it's the best shot I have in my armory, I like to play it and it's nice when it comes off. It's all about keeping my balance, I don't work too much on the cross-bat shots, it's important to stay in the line while playing those. I was disappointed at not finishing it off last game, Mahela had a word to us - he keeps us in check, in focus, it's nice to have such people around. I have played enough to not think too much about the keeping - everyone does drop catches and I'm not any different. I'm working on some aspects of the keeping, but I think I can keep improving on that aspect of the game", he said.

(Image Courtesy: @IPL)