IPL 2020: Eoin Morgan Underlines What Helped Pat Cummins Enhance His Power-Hitting

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Eoin Morgan did not enjoy the desired result in the first day of his job, having suffered a crushing defeat to Mumbai Indians by eight wickets. Eoin Morgan took charge of the franchise hours before the match as keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik stepped down from the position. Pat Cummins’ half-century was the only bright spot and Morgan highlighted the reason for his power-hitting.

Pat Cummins arrived at the crease after Andre Russell’s departure and clobbered an unbeaten half-century to lift the Knight Riders to a respectable 148 from 61-5. The 26-year old shared an unbeaten partnership of 87 with Eoin Morgan as he clubbed five fours and two sixes in 36 deliveries to score 53 runs. However, Cummins could not do magic with the ball as he gave away 28 runs in three overs.

Eoin Morgan underlined that they opted for Pat Cummins as an all-rounder and that the speedster has been concentrating a lot on golf this trip. The 33-year old believes that it has played an instrumental role in enhancing his power-hitting skills.

“We actually look at Pat as an all-rounder. I think the thing that he has been really focusing on is his golf in this trip so far. It has made a huge difference in his batting and the striking of a ball. He has been hitting a golf ball really well,” Morgan said in the post-match press conference.

“We made a few mistakes with the bat early on” : Eoin Morgan

Talking about their performance, Eoin Morgan feels they committed mistakes when batting early on while Mumbai Indians’ display proved why they are one of the best teams in the tournament. The World Cup-winning captain added that with the second stage of the tournament underway, there is no better time to turn the tables as they need massive improvements.

“We made a few mistakes with the bat early on. I thought the Mumbai Indians bowled really well and proved exactly why they have been one of the form teams in the tournament so far. From here on in, that is another area of improvement that we need to make strides on. We have just passed the halfway stage in the tournament and there is no better time to turn things around,” he added.

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