Thakur hits 29-ball 68 before Narine, Varun, Suyash choke RCB
KOLKATA: If one can question Kolkata Knight Riders' calls at the auction table, there should not be any doubt about their choices in the trading window.
|
IPL 2023 SCHEDULEIPL 2023 POINTS TABLE
One of the biggest trade deals in the build-up to the Indian Premier League mini-auction was done between Delhi Capitals and KKR when India all-rounder Shardul Thakur switched base to Kolkata. The team also got Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz from Gujrat Titans before the tournament.
Both the players emerged as Knights in shining armour to help the side beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 81 runs at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and 19-year-old leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, coming as an impact player replacing Venkatesh Iyer, then bowled in tandem sharing nine wickets among themselves to bowl out RCB for 123 in 17.4 overs. While Narine claimed 2 for 16, Sharma made his IPL debut memorable by returning with three for 30. Chakravarthy was the most successful KKR bowler with four for 15 in 3.4 overs.
1/10:IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders spin downs Royal Challengers Bangalore
PTI
2/10:First win this season for KKR
<p>Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 81 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday for their first win this season. </p>PTI
3/10:Rahmanullah Gurbaz
<p>Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit 57 off 58 balls but his dismissal, along with Andre Russell for a duck the next ball, left KKR in trouble. </p>PTI
4/10:Shardul Thakur
<p>Shardul Thakur blitzed a 20-ball 50, hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes in his knock of 68, to power a KKR recovery from a worrisome 89/5 in the 12th over. </p>PTI
5/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Thakur's dominant show put KKR in control and a sixth wicket partnership with Rinku Singh notched 103 runs off only 47 balls. </p>AP
6/10:Varun Chakravarthy
<p>RCB crashed to 123 all out in reply as KKR's spinners ran amok, with Varun Chakravarthy picking 4/15 in less than four overs. </p>PTI
7/10:Suyash Sharma
<p>KKR's teenage impact player leg spinner Suyash Sharma took 3/30 on his IPL debut. AP </p>AP
8/10:Sunil Narine
<p>West Indies veteran spinner Sunil Narine took 2/16. </p>AP
9/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli (21) and Faf du Plessis (23) gave RCB a quick start, adding 44 off 29 balls. </p>PTI
10/10:Narine dismisses Kohli
<p>But the KKR bowling attack found its groove when Narine bowled the former Indian captain.</p>PTIVery few expected KKR to get to 204 for seven after struggling at 89 for five by the 12th over. But Thakur went hammer and tongs after Gurbaz kept the side in the game with a 44-ball 57.
The Mumbai all-rounder changed the complexion of the match getting his highest T20 score with a hard-hitting 68 off just 29 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
Rinku Singh too opened up in the latter half of the innings getting 46 off 33 balls.
It was the 103-run sixth-wicket stand between Thakur and Rinku that put the smiles back on team's co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, who arrived just before the match and came down to the ground to congratulate the boys after the win.
However, KKR's top-order continued to remain a worry as they once again failed to get a good start.
David Willey must have given some comfort to RCB on a day it was learnt that Reece Topley was ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder dislocation. The left-arm pacer drew first blood claiming a double wicket maiden in the fourth over of the innings after RCB skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and put the hosts in first.
The left-handed pacer clean bowled last-match's impact player Iyer, who came in to open the innings and Mandeep Singh in consecutive deliveries.
Nitish Rana fell trying to reverse sweep off-spinner Michael Bracewell's first ball only to get a thick edge for wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to take an easy catch. But Gurbaz continued to play his shots to bring up his 50, sweeping Karn Sharma's second delivery for a six over backward square leg.
However, Sharma then made a big difference in his second over picking up Gurbaz and KKR's star all-rounder Andre Russell in consecutive deliveries. Thakur restored things hitting Bracewell for consecutive sixes.
The all-rounder got 50 off just 20 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.
It seemed to be Thakur's day as his mis-hits too landed in between fielders.
