Morgan and Tripathi steer Kolkata Knight Riders to victory over Punjab Kings
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00:00When you have runs in the bank as a captain, it definitely helps your confidence.
00:04And today Morgan played a very smart innings because this was a difficult wicket.
00:15Hi guys and welcome once again to Straight Back with Mr Cricket, UAE and Golf News.
00:20We're here with Anu Sajjan as usual and also with Shyam Krishna from Golf and myself, Matthew Smith.
00:28Now, we had a very interesting one today. Punjab were up against KKR.
00:33We'll quickly say hi to Anus and then we'll get cracking.
00:37Hi Matt and hi beautiful people of the Golf News community.
00:40Hi Shyam. As always, I keep saying that make sure to log on to your beautiful page,
00:45GolfNews.com and predict the winner.
00:50And every day you walk away with two beautiful jackets and three months of subscription, all from Golf News.
00:59Yes, Matt. Maybe we have lost him for a while.
01:05Are you there?
01:07Yeah, I know it's a little connectivity issue there, I think.
01:10But yeah, no, we'll just get cracking.
01:13Obviously, it was a great win, a much needed win for KKR tonight.
01:17Pitting Punjab's comeback on a very short-lived status.
01:21Pretty solid all round from KKR today.
01:25They opted to bowl first. Really solid bowling all round.
01:29And then a great batting performance led by Morgan, who pledged he would come good.
01:33And he actually did. How did you see it yourself, Anus?
01:37A couple of things, Matt.
01:39One, that this win will definitely give KKR a lot of confidence and more confidence to the captain.
01:45I heard one of the commentators speaking on air saying that when you have runs in the back,
01:50when you have runs in the bank as a captain, it definitely helps your confidence.
01:54And today, Morgan played a very smart innings because this was a difficult wicket.
01:58It was not that wicket that we could just go and swing you and you get runs.
02:02He played himself in and got the important runs and stayed till the end to make sure that his team wins.
02:09So, this was important.
02:10And secondly, they came out of that losing streak.
02:12Four matches losing streak is always a monkey on your back. You want to get out of it.
02:16And now, with this win and with almost 20 balls to spare, their run rate has become good.
02:22And they have come on number five, which is good.
02:25And there will always be that confidence going into the next game.
02:29And obviously, Shyam, just to expand on the much-needed boost for Morgan there, I think,
02:38and also another dent to the confidence for Punjab.
02:43Yes, exactly. It will dent Punjab.
02:47Because they were in the boondocks and they actually picked themselves up.
02:51And when things were going good for them, this is again a setback for them.
02:57I think they need to look back at their batting, perhaps even reaching a little bit,
03:02because it's increasingly seeing that whether Gale is a deadweight,
03:10or so we need to look at whether Buran needs an extended run,
03:15because I think he's been through four games without any substantial contribution.
03:19This is his biggest contribution. This is 19.
03:22And if you have foreign players, they need to pull their weight.
03:26Otherwise, I think you need to really, really have to look at other resources.
03:31So, teams need to be brave enough to drop their foreign players as well if they're not performing?
03:37Absolutely, if they're not performing.
03:39I mean, there is no mandatory requirement that you should play all four foreign players.
03:43If you have good enough replacements, why not?
03:48Cool. And Anas, again, back to you.
03:51How, from here, the KKR, what do they need to now click and become one of those top four teams?
03:58Is it Andre Russell that needs to be the one that has to step up now
04:01in order to give them a fully formed lineup, shall we say?
04:06Andre Russell's innings will definitely be a bonus for KKR.
04:09But what's worrying for them is their opening pair.
04:12I'm afraid after that first couple of knocks from Nitish Rana, he's gone off the boil.
04:16And so is Shubman Gill, who is not got off at all.
04:20He's now five, rather six matches, he's not done anything good.
04:24He's taking balls, getting set and not able to convert them.
04:28Now, if I have to be very honest, both Nitish Rana and specially Shubman Gill,
04:33they are classical players. They are not guys who can come and slog.
04:37I don't see any reason why Tripathi cannot be pushed up the order where he can open the innings.
04:42And I would also bring in, since you want a left-hander, bring in Sunil Narain.
04:46If you are playing Sunil Narain as an all-rounder, I don't see him coming at number four.
04:51Let's not be stubborn about it. There are times he might probably score five zeroes in a row.
04:56But if he scores a zero, he is not going to eat up that many balls.
05:00In any case, your other openers are eating up.
05:02But if Narain pulls up one match where he scores a 30-40-50, that's a bonus.
05:08And secondly, I want to see at number three, Owen Morgan.
05:13So, my batting lineup for KKR has to be Tripathi, Sunil Narain.
05:21And if they lose for any reason, a quick player like Narain early in the first over.
05:26There is no harm in giving Morgan that time because he is one of those players who takes a little bit of time.
05:31Gets in and then can show his magic.
05:35And today's innings will definitely give him confidence.
05:38And if they want to drop Shubman Gill, the player I want for my experience would probably be Karun Nair.
05:45I am sure Shyam will endorse Karun Nair, who scored a triple hundred for India.
05:49Shyam?
05:51I pretty much agree with your assessment about the Calcutta openers.
05:59Simply because, like I said, except the first couple of games, they have completely misfired.
06:04And you are bang on about the playing styles of Shubman Gill and Diti Shrana.
06:12If it was left to me, I would not take out both. Maybe I might change one.
06:18If you look at what Rahul Tripathi is doing, he is virtually coming in as an opener.
06:23Second or third over, he is in there.
06:26In fact, he is a very de facto kind of opener.
06:29So there is no harm in pushing him up the order.
06:32But I also completely like your idea of pushing Sunil Narayan to the opening slot.
06:43Because that will allow Tripathi to be kept at number three.
06:47And I would prefer Morgan to be in fourth.
06:50Because Morgan can play the anchor role as well as push the scoring along.
06:55And I think what Morgan played today is exactly the kind of role that is expected of him.
07:03And he has to stay till the end to see them home.
07:08Because they have the rest of the other batters to bat around him.
07:11You have people like DK, you have Russell who can come around and hammer the ball.
07:16So that leaves the question of where does Rana come in.
07:20Because to me, it would be Shubman Gill and Sunil Narayan opening.
07:26One drop would be Tripathi. Two drops would be Morgan.
07:31So I don't find a place for Rana.
07:37All right. Fair point.
07:39So he might be the one that makes way.
07:41I mean, obviously, we didn't see him tonight.
07:43But obviously, Pat Cummins is in the headlines for other reasons today.
07:48He made a donation to the Indian cause in the coronavirus cases.
07:53That is taking a big second wave across India right now.
07:57I think we're all in consensus that it was the right thing to do to try and get his fellow high earning cricket players to help stump up for a country that's given them a lot of money over the years.
08:11Great gesture, Matt, shown by Pat Cummins.
08:14The need of the hour for a lot of people going through this tough period in India is some support from wherever they get in.
08:21If cricketers can put their hands up, if it's nothing like it.
08:24And Pat Cummins has shown the way.
08:26And I'm sure a lot of cricketers might be doing it silently.
08:28A lot of cricketers can take a leaf out of it and support the people who need this little bit of whatever amount contribution it goes for.
08:38Whether it is for oxygen or whether it's for the treatment.
08:41It's a great thing.
08:42And I salute to Pat Cummins.
08:45And Shah, I'm also on a more personal level for some of the cricketers as well.
08:49We saw three of the Australian guys have opted to head for home.
08:54Obviously, there's very strict quarantine and border rules about getting back to Australia right now.
09:00So some of them have obviously got a few concerns about even getting back home safely and in time.
09:07And so they've taken the probably very tough decision to call it a day and head for home.
09:14That's Zampa, Richardson and Tai have all headed back to Australia early.
09:20What's your take on that, Shah?
09:22I think there are genuine concerns because the sheer number of cases in India.
09:27When you are talking about 300,000 cases a day, that is perhaps the highest in any country in the world.
09:33And that is indeed a cause for concern.
09:36And you're seeing something like 1500 deaths a day.
09:39These are really figures, grim figures, which can be very disturbing.
09:46So the concerns are natural.
09:48But I think more of the Australians' decision to go home also is to do with the quarantine rules in Australia.
09:55Because I think if I understand correctly, each state in Australia has a quota of people who are returning home.
10:04So let's say New South Wales has a quota of say 500 people returning this week or whatever is the quota set.
10:14So anybody else wouldn't be allowed into the state, which means they could be locked out of the country.
10:21So their fears are genuine.
10:23And we need to understand and appreciate the fact that their safety is paramount.
10:30So not just their safety and everybody's safety, including theirs is paramount.
10:35So I mean, like each of us have to look out for ourselves.
10:39Because by looking after ourselves, we are looking out for others as well.
10:43So we have to understand the Australian cricketers' decision in that context.
10:50And obviously the teams themselves that are related to these players have given their full backing and support.
10:56You know, because obviously personal safety comes first.
11:01But to move slightly back to the action on the field, this end result has left them no sunrisers.
11:07We've talked about the plight of Rajasthan Royals and Punjab and KKR.
11:12And now sunrisers find themselves at the bottom of the pile.
11:15Where is that? Where do they go from here now?
11:18They've played a game less than a couple of the teams above them.
11:22But they really need to get another win on the board with just the two points so far.
11:27Well, yes. Yesterday's loss must be a bittersweet feel for Warner and Sunrisers.
11:33They were almost there. And after they got that six in the last over, they thought they were there.
11:39But they missed out on the opportunity.
11:41Unfortunately, in the super over, I am not sure why Johnny Best was not sent to open along with Warner.
11:48Because Williamson had run out of gas.
11:50But sometimes decisions happen and you've got to back the management.
11:55It didn't work. At one time, probably they would have even defended eight runs had that not been a short run.
12:00But yes, Sunrisers do need a win. They have also played five.
12:04In fact, all the teams have played five matches except KKR and Punjab.
12:09So the other teams like Sunrisers and others, if you talk about RR, would like to have some few points.
12:16Otherwise, we see only the top four CSK, DC, RCB and Mumbai Indians making the playoffs.
12:22But I feel there should be some change in the back end of the tournament.
12:25You will see a new team coming in.
12:28We see that every season. There's always one team that makes a leap, Trish.
12:33Just very quickly, we can look ahead to tomorrow's game.
12:36We've gone from the bottom of the table.
12:38We're going back to the top of the table again because it's RCB against Delhi.
12:42RCB coming off the first loss and Delhi obviously having a good run.
12:49Do you think Kohli is going to pick his men up and get them back in the winning form tomorrow?
12:55Actually, that's a very interesting matchup because Bangalore is coming on the back of a loss.
13:03Whereas Delhi have their tails up after a good win, really.
13:08But it's very little to choose between these two teams because I would have plumbed for Bangalore if they were on the winning streak.
13:17Now this loss, you'd never know. Normally, a loss can send you down a slippery slope.
13:23Normally, losses doesn't come like solitary losses.
13:27It normally sets up a string of losses, which is my worry for Bangalore.
13:33So I'm expecting Delhi to win tomorrow's encounter.
13:39Okay. And Anish, who do you plumb for tomorrow then?
13:43It's going to be a tough one. Both teams look strong on paper.
13:47And like Shyam mentioned, one loss can lead to a few losses.
13:51And that's what's been the case with RCB in the past.
13:54They start well and then they fall off.
13:57And it's going to be a test of character for Virat Kohli.
14:00He needs to put his hand up.
14:02One advantage, probably, I would not say advantage.
14:05Most of the Indian players are part of Delhi's squad, rather.
14:08So they know they have played at Ahmedabad. So they know how the wicket plays.
14:12I hope it's a sporty wicket where both the batsmen and bowlers get help.
14:17But like Shyam mentioned, Delhi might have a slight edge.
14:22Okay. Well, we shall see.
14:25Well, thanks again, everybody.
14:26Thanks to Anish and to Shyam for taking the time out for the chat.
14:30And we'll be back tomorrow and we'll see how that game pans out.
14:33Again, everybody, thanks for watching.
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14:44So it's always worthwhile getting on there.
14:47So thanks once again, guys. And we shall see you all tomorrow.
14:51Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Shyam.
14:53Thank you. Good night.
14:55Bye-bye.