Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur looked like a well-organized player and anchored the game with a calm and composed 68 off of 29 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday with a score of 204 for 7. Both Thakur and the opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit great half-centuries (57 off 44 balls), and Rinku Singh got 46 off 33 balls as KKR made a remarkable comeback from being 89 for five.
On the day that KKR’s most dangerous batter, Andre Russell, got out for a golden duck, Gurbaz (57; 44b) laid the groundwork before Thakur showed his strength as a power hitter to take them past the 200-mark after RCB chose to bowl. With these innings, Thakur became the fastest Indian player in the current event to reach 50 runs. So far, the 31-year-old has done a great job and pulled his team out of the mud. Thakur stepped up to bat when KKR was 89/5, but he has since played a memorable inning. He was an excellent batter; his shots quickly went over the fence.
When the match started, KKR was in trouble at 47/3. Gurbaz led the charge against the “local” Bengal pacer Akash Deep, hitting him for a six and then getting two boundaries in a row. He got six fours and three sixes in all. Gurbaz asked for a review to change an LBW call at 30 and then hit a mighty sweep over the long-leg boundary to get to 50 in 38 balls.
Then, Thakur beat Akash Deep with his knock, which had nine fours and three sixes. Besides Willey, the RCB bowlers could have done a better job, and Akash Deep gave up 30 runs in his two overs. Siraj also looked confused and ended his four overs with 1/44. They also gave away 23 extra runs.
