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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan lauded Harbhajan Singh for his selflessness after the two-time champions beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their IPL 2021 opener in Chennai.
Making his debut for KKR, the 40-year-old Harbhajan Singh opened the bowling but didn't deliver another over in the match. He almost took the wicket of SRH captain David Warner, but Pat Cummins squandered a sitter at point. After giving away just two runs off his first five deliveries, Harbhajan Singh conceded a six to Wriddhiman Saha, which spoiled his figures a tad.
Although the veteran off-spinner didn't contribute much, he provided valuable advice to the other KKR bowlers during the game. Eoin Morgan praised the experienced Harbhajan Singh for doing so, saying:
“Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) starting really well in the first over and then not playing a part but using his experience to get around the guys in the game shows that (selflessness in the side),” said Eoin Morgan in the post-match presentation.
Harbhajan Singh has shown more energy than anyone else in the squad: Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan continued his praise for Harbhajan Singh in the post-match press conference. The England limited-overs captain said that Harbhajan Singh's energy level has been higher than anyone else in the KKR camp.
Answering a question on why Harbhajan Singh wasn’t bowled after the first over, Morgan said:
“It’s more to do with the match-ups. We analysed the opposition batsmen and him bowling the first over was a plan based on that. He created an opportunity, but unfortunately the catch was dropped. The role he played from thereon was outstanding. He used his experience, spoke to the players and lent his hand wherever needed. From the time he has arrived in the camp, he has shown more energy than anyone else. Hopefully, he can continue doing that and keep bowling beautifully the way he has been.”
Build-up to IPL 2021 for KKR has been good: Eoin Morgan
While praising his side’s batting effort in the game on Sunday, Eoin Morgan said that KKR had a good build-up to their IPL 2021 campaign. The pre-tournament camp helped the team bond well. Eoin Morgan elaborated in this regard:
“Build-up to the tournament has been pretty good. In the camp that we had pre-tournament, the guys gelled well. Today was quite magnificent the way the guys batted. Guys at the top of the order. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi were absolutely outstanding and set up the game for our middle order to play in the manner we want to play".
KKR's win was set up by Nitish Rana’s 56-ball 80 and Rahul Tripathi’s 29-ball 53. The duo added 93 runs off 50 balls for the first wicket. Despite failures from Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell, an unbeaten cameo from Dinesh Karthik lifted KKR to a competitive total of 187-6.
KKR will now face defending champions Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Tuesday.
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