Former Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan appreciated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star all-rounder, Shardul Thakur’s match-winning performance in their last game of the Indian Premier League (IPL ) 2023, as KKR beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs.
Thakur came to bat at 7th position for the home side, while KKR was 89/5 in the 12th over, he scored 68 for 29 balls to take his side post the target of 204/7 at the end of the innings. Later the 31-year-old was awarded player of the match for his brilliant knock and one wicket he took in that game.
Irfan Pathan thinks Shardul Thakur’s innings came at a crucial moment-
“You expect such innings from Andre Russell or Sunil Narine, or you can probably expect it from Nitish Rana. You expect 20 to 40-run knocks from Shardul Thakur, but that was a game-changing knock,” he added.
Along with left-handed batter, Rinku Singh, Shardul added 103 runs for the sixth wicket to take KKR out of trouble and post the mammoth total of 204 runs, while Rinku was dismissed on 46 run mark at the end of the 19th over, while right-handed batter innings ended on 19.4 overs mark.
Lord Shardul Thakur show.
Unbelievable hitting against RCB bowlers.pic.twitter.com/yY0qeQGhhC
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 6, 2023
“The knock came in a difficult situation. It was a situation where KKR could have been totally out of the game. There Shardul Thakur came. The score was 89 and after that, the fearless approach with which Shardul batted, it was amazing,” he further added.
Coming to the match, RCB won the toss and opted to field, the home side led by Nitish Rana batted first, and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave a kick start to the side with his 57 runs in 44 balls, later Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur scored 46 and 68 runs respectively to take their side past 200 run mark, KKR posted 204/7 in 20 overs.
While in the chase, after the decent opening partnership between skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli for 44 runs under 5 overs, but wickets fell at regular intervals, with RCB’s skipper’s highest score of 23 runs in 12 balls, the opposition side was bowled out for 123 runs in 17.4 overs.
Two-time champions have moved up the points table of IPL 2023, with their first win in the league, now they have one win in two matches played this season and are placed at the third spot. For the 3rd game of their in the 16th edition of the cash-rich league, KKR will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 9 at Ahmedabad.