IPL 2016: Chris Morris labels blitzkrieg against Gujarat Lions as one of his best

The 28-year-old South African all-rounder, Chris Morris had pulled off a brilliant performance- both with the bat and the ball- for the Delhi Daredevils against the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi, earlier yesterday.

While chasing a formidable 173 set by the Lions, Zaheer Khan's men fell short of the target by just a single run as Chris Morris' unbeaten 32-ball 82 went in vain. The Delhi side was, once, struggling at 57 for 4 when the South African duo of Chris Morris and JP Duminy put up an 87 run partnership to put the Daredevils back into the game.

However, with 14 runs required off the last over, the 28-year-old all-rounder couldn't quite finish it off as the Delhi-based franchise slumped to a narrow 1-run defeat in what was one of the most thrilling encounters in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Earlier, in the first innings of the match, Morris had picked up a couple of crucial wickets of Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina in just a single over as the South African all-rounder finished off with the figures of 4-0-35-2.

Chris Morris’ reactions after the match

When asked about what was going on in his mind during the final over of the game, a candid Morris replied, “I was hoping that Dwayne (Bravo) would miss one of the yorkers. To be honest, he pretty much nailed them every time but I hoped he would miss one. He bowled really well in the last over.”

“And I think the last two overs were good. The second last over by Praveen Kumar (with four runs coming off it) was outstanding. They held on well. It was a brilliant show of death bowling,” he added.

The 28-year-old also acknowledged the fact that Brendon McCullum's dismissal was a lucky one. “I think the wicket of (Brendon) McCullum was quite lucky. It was the first time I got the slower one right. I usually bowl down (the) leg or a wide full toss. Luckily I pulled off nicely today so got lucky there.”

“But (Suresh) Raina was (a planned dismissal)... He is susceptible to the short ball and we set that up,” the 28-year-old added.

Later, while talking about his unbeaten 32-ball 82, Chris Morris said, “It is up there, it is one of my best moments in terms of batting. It was a special day today. It was lucky for me that it came off the middle today consistently for me. I am happy to be able to contribute to the team and get us close.”