Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) gave a reality check to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). KKR dominated the terms & won the match by 81 runs. Shardul Thakur‘s blistering knock of 68 runs in 29 balls proved to be the difference in the end. It looked as if Shardul Thakur was toying with the bowlers  & at the same time taking calculative risks.

Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy & Suyash Sharma bamboozled the batters with their variations. The trio took 9 wickets between them, and Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of them as he registered stunning figures of 4 wickets in his spell of 3.4 overs & gave away only 15 runs.

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RCB’s middle order was exposed in the steep run chase of 205 runs. RCB are missing a proper batter in the middle order as every time Faf du Plessis & Virat Kohli won’t win the match. The batters looked in a hurry to smash boundaries & should have gotten their eye in before getting berserk.

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RCB took Shardul Thakur lightly, at one stage KKR was in deep trouble 89-5 in 11.3 overs; skipper Faf du Plessis should have gone for wickets. The experienced campaigner Harshal Patel had a terrible outing, the right-arm speedster was taken to the cleaners & gave away 38 runs in his 3 overs where he took 1 wicket.

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It was a collective effort from KKR as earlier, Gurbaz played a fine knock of 57 runs in 44 balls. KKR’s management would be worried about the way the flamboyant all-rounder Andre Russell got out when he tried to clear the long off fielder on the first ball that too when the team was already in a precarious position.

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We also work hard in the nets- Shardul Thakur

During the post-match presentation, Shardul Thakur was asked did he plan about going hard at the bowlers. Shardul Thakur gave credit to the coaching staff for their work. Shardul Thakur heaped praise on the debutant Suyash Sharma and the spin department.

“I don’t even know where it came from but looking at the scorecard at that time, everyone would have thought we are struggling. But your subconscious mind takes over. You also have to have skills to do that at the higher level, but we also work hard in the nets. There is a period where we can slog it in the nets,” said Shardul Thakur

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“Coaching staff do the throwdowns and give us the option of range-hitting. And you know the pitches – they always suit the batsmen, don’t they? Suyash bowled exceptionally well, and we know the quality Sunil and Varun have. They have fun, take wickets. This was a perfect day,” he added.

Also Read: PBKS vs KKR: Andre Russell Cherishes To Play The IPL In Front Of Indian Fans