KOLKATA: Former England captain Eoin Morgan hailed Prasidh Krishna's game-changing spell in the middle overs as “priceless” following Gujarat Titans’ 39-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Monday, highlighting the fast bowler’s growing influence this IPL season.
Krishna, the current Purple Cap holder, delivered an economical 4-0-25-2 as KKR faltered in their chase of 199, managing only 159 for eight, their second straight loss and fifth in eight games.
"He's the Purple Cap holder at the moment, and his rhythm just keeps getting better. We know he has that extra bit of pace to work with, but you have to admire the strength he brings during the middle phase of the game," said Morgan, speaking as a JioStar expert.
"As a captain, having a seamer who can make that kind of impact in the middle overs is absolutely priceless. He now finds himself with the most wickets in this year's tournament, by some margin, actually, by four. It's great to see him growing as a player, evolving across formats, and now being rewarded with national honours as well,” he added.
For defending champions KKR, it was yet another underwhelming performance at home, having now lost three out of four matches at Eden Gardens. Despite changes in the line-up to strengthen the batting, the team failed to build meaningful partnerships.
“Kolkata Knight Riders have simply not bounced back as well as we would have liked them to. It’s always a good sign for a strong team with a lot of character around, but they had the same failures that they’ve shown throughout the tournament,” said Morgan.
“They made a couple of changes (against GT), mainly to try and gain some impetus in their batting line-up, and it didn’t necessarily come off. Were the changes worth it? They’ll sit back and say no.”
Morgan noted that KKR’s batting lacked cohesion and momentum.
“It was interesting to hear Ajinkya Rahane talk about 199 being a chaseable score because towards the back end of Gujarat Titans’ innings, we thought the ball held up more than we expected (and) that made finding boundaries harder,” he said.
“But there was no rhythm, no substantial partnerships — almost the polar opposite of what Gujarat Titans displayed.”
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu lauded GT's B Sai Sudharsan, who scored a composed 52 off 36 balls and crossed the 400-run mark in the tournament.
“It gives us such joy to watch him bat. As a classical batsman, he shows how the game can still be played in a traditional style, (to) use the pace of the ball, play under your eyes, keep it along the ground, and play smart cricket. Playing smart cricket brings runs and also builds confidence,” Rayudu said.