Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 22 : Former England captain and JioStar expert Eoin Morgan has delivered a pointed assessment of the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) disappointing performance against the Gujarat Titans (GT), highlighting their failure to bounce back and questioning the tactical changes made by the side in the crucial encounter.
Speaking on JioHotstar after Gujarat Titans secured a 39-run win, Morgan dissected the recurring issues plaguing the KKR lineup this season.
"Kolkata Knight Riders have simply not bounced back as well as we would have liked them to," he said.
"It's always a good sign when a team has strong character, but they had the same failures that they've shown throughout the tournament," he added.
Morgan noted that KKR did try to shake things up, particularly in the batting department, but the moves failed to pay off.
"They made a couple of changes, 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," he noted.
The former World Cup-winning skipper also weighed in on Ajinkya Rahane's post-match comments, in which the KKR veteran said 199 was a chaseable total.
"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. That made finding boundaries harder," he added.
Morgan further pointed out that the Titans had a clear edge in execution and rhythm.
"There was no rhythm, no substantial partnerships--almost the polar opposite of what Gujarat Titans displayed today," he remarked, underlining the lack of cohesion in KKR's approach.
With the tournament nearing its business end, Kolkata's inability to find consistency or build momentum is now a major concern. As Morgan suggested, the Knight Riders will need deep introspection and perhaps a change in mindset if they hope to turn things around in the remaining games.
Coming to the match, KKR won the toss and opted to bowl first. A 114-run stand between Sudharsan (52 in 36 balls, with six fours and a six) and Gill, who went to score 90 in 55 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes, served as a solid foundation for a big score. Then a 58-run stand between Gill and Jos Buttler (41* in 23 balls, with eight fours) took GT to 198/3 in their 20 overs.
Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell got a wicket each for KKR.
During the run-chase, KKR, except for their skipper Ajinkya Rahane (50 in 36 balls, with five fours and a six), failed to put up much of a fight as superb spells from Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Rashid Khan (2/25) reduced them to 159/8 at the end of their 20 overs.
Gill was given the 'Player of the Match' for his knock of 90 runs.
KKR have slipped to seventh spot with three wins and their fifth loss, while GT maintain their supremacy at top with six wins and two losses, giving them 12 points.