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Morgan’s Form Key to England’s T20 Success

He announced his arrival in Twenty20s with a 45-ball 85 not out against South Africa in November last year. It was only his second T20 international match. His innovative batting style, audacious shots, improvisation and cool approach are the perfect recipes for Twenty20 success.

Morgan, who earlier played for Ireland, made headlines when he scored match-winning ODI knocks for England during the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa last year.

After scoring an unbeaten 62 against Sri Lanka, he hit the second-fastest one-day 50 by an England player against South Africa during the tournament. He is slated to play some T20 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League this season. Morgan’s form would also be crucial for England’s chances in the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled to be hosted by West Indies in April this year.

England were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 3-18 in 4.2 overs, chasing 130 on Friday. Kevin Pietersen too wasn’t in good touch for a while and it seemed England would spoil another golden chance to secure a victory. But that was not to be, thanks to a 112-run unbeaten fourth wicket partnership between Morgan and Pietersen. The Irish-born Englishman smashed a 51-ball 67 to guide the team to a seven-wicket victory.

“I like batting with Kevin, with the ability and power the guy has. His destruction capabilities are endless. I think we suit each other,” Morgan said in a post-match press conference.

“One of us can sit in if the other is in form or fancies a particular bowler. So I enjoy batting with him.

Asked about the partnership, the Dubliner said: “It was a difficult wicket to get in on, difficult to manipulate the ball. “However, once we got in, we were able to force the occasion and put the pressure back on the bowlers.

“We were able to do that because of the short target we were set. It was a magnificent effort from our bowlers.”

“We decided to put the foot on the pedal towards the end and it came off. Boundaries came at the right time and we’ve seen it home.”

Pietersen, who contacted ex-England coach Duncan Fletcher to find out what went wrong with his batting, played a responsible innings on Friday.

A pleased captain Paul Collingwood, who termed the victory as a “near-perfect performance,” also applauded the effort of his premier batsman.

“It was an important innings and Pietersen used his head,” said Collingwood. We were in a sticky situation. Really it was kind of an anchor role (from Pietersen). It was unlike a KP innings but it was a very important one.

“He looked very composed out there, which is a great thing because he looked confident at the crease and struck the ball well.

Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik said his team were at least 20-25 runs short.

“We didn’t start well and in the T20 format you have to utilise the first six overs. The England bowlers really utilised the new ball, bowled in good areas and that was the difference.

“We took three early wickets but, the way Pietersen and Morgan batted, we should learn from that. The way they batted was awesome but, in my opinion, we were 20-25 runs short.”

pradeep@khaleejtimes.com