Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan has hailed Harbhajan Singh for his selfless attitude and showing more energy than anyone else in the team.
The comments of the World Cup-winning captain comes after KKR defeated Sunrsers Hyderabad (SRH) in their tournament opener by 10 runs on Sunday.
Powered by scintillating fifties from Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi, KKR posted 187 for 6. Dinesh Karthik smashed a quickfire 22 not out off 9 balls towards the end.
In reply, SRH lost their openers early before Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey brought back the 2016 champions on track. However, the chase went haywire after the dismissal of the former.
Harbhajan Singh, who got the opportunity to make his KKR debut in the match, bowled the first over and almost got his maiden wicket in purple in golden. On the 4th ball of the run-chase, SRH captain Warner attempted a cut which was miscued. Pat Cummins dived forward and got hold of the ball before spilling it out.
The 40-year-old did not bowl again after his solitary over but kept on supporting his teammates by talking to them and sharing his experience in between the match at Chennai’s Chepauk.
“Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) starting really well in the first over and then not playing a part but using his experience to get around the guys in the game shows that (selflessness in the side),” said Eoin Morgan in the post-match presentation.
“It’s more to do with the match-ups. We analysed the opposition batsmen and him bowling the first over was a plan based on that. He created an opportunity, but unfortunately the catch was dropped. The role he played from thereon was outstanding. He used his experience, spoke to the players and lent his hand wherever needed. From the time he has arrived in the camp, he has shown more energy than anyone else. Hopefully, he can continue doing that and keep bowling beautifully the way he has been,” Morgan said in post-match press conference.
