Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Eoin Morgan, one of the most respected voices in international cricket, on Monday (April 26) acknowledged that the players are more than aware of the horrific nature of the COVID-19 pandemic which is claiming hundreds of lives outside the bio-bubble.


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With the second wave of the pandemic wreaking havoc, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is witnessing player pull-outs due to fear of bubble fatigue at one end and a generous donation of $50,000 to buy Oxygen cylinders from Pat Cummins.


“It’s challenging and things have to be managed for the players and staff, and we know the horrific nature of what's happening outside the bubble,” Morgan said after playing a match-winning knock against Punjab Kings on Monday.


“We try and lend our support and we've seen how devastating it is not only in India but around the world. If you're going out stay safe, wear a mask, maintain social distance. We've seen huge amounts of tough times, even at home. On behalf of KKR, we wish everyone well. We can stick together, we can beat this thing,” Morgan said.


A spirited bowling performance from KKR restricted Punjab Kings to 123/9 in 20 overs. In reply, skipper Morgan and Rahul Tripathi led the run-chase and scored 47 not out and 41 respectively to put the side over the line with 20 balls to spare.


“It was nice to lead the team. We’ve worked incredibly hard, but didn’t perform as well as we would have liked initially. Today our performance was really, really impressive, especially from our bowlers and the way we started and kept the pressure throughout. On a wicket like that, in 12th or 13th over the ball continued to slide on and got better and better," Morgan said after the game.


On the game front, Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul was livid with an underwhelming performance from his men as they could score only 123/9.


“I really don't know what to say, it was a poor performance from us,” Rahul said. “We should have adapted better on a new pitch, we could have applied a lot more with the bat and get that extra 20-30 runs. The wicket was a bit low and slow, but 120-130 was not enough. A few soft dismissals costing us the game,” Rahul added.


(with agency inputs)