Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a memorable outing when they took on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 9 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The Nitish Rana-led Knight Riders completely dominated the proceedings and registered an enormous 81-run triumph.
After being asked to bat first, the Knight Riders were in deep trouble when they lost five wickets for just 89 runs in 12 overs. However, Shardul Thakur (68 off 29) and Rinku Singh (46 off 33) turned the table with a counterattack and added 103 runs for the sixth wicket, helping KKR reach 204/7 in 20 overs.
Following that, RCB’s innings came to a close at 123 as Varun Chakaravarthy wreaked havoc and picked up four wickets to destroy RCB’s batting. In addition to Chakaravarthy’s impressive performance, debutant Suyash Sharma also made a significant contribution to KKR’s victory by taking three wickets and weakening the core of RCB’s batting line-up.
During the 13th over of RCB’s chase, Suyash provided double blows as he got rid of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat, both of whom carry the reputation of changing the game on its head. The right-arm spinner first dismissed Anuj to claim his maiden scalp in the cash-rich league. He tossed up the ball outside off, which spun away. Anuj tried to slog sweep it against the spin but only managed to get a top edge caught easily by Sunil Narine. Just two deliveries later, Suyash bowled a similar ball, and this time Karthik fell in the spin trap.
Here is the video:
Anuj Rawat ☑️
Dinesh Karthik ☑️Watch Suyash Sharma pick two quick wickets in his debut game.
Live – https://t.co/V0OS7tFZTB #TATAIPL #KKRvRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/3igG1jDWb4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2023
After the game, KKR skipper Nitish Rana heaped praises on Suyash for his outstanding performance and revealed how the spin sensation always remains excited and ready to take on new challenges.
“We had always planned not to give RCB batters pace in the middle overs. Suyash, playing his first match, bowled brilliant balls. Not even we have got to know him so far. He backs himself. It was always our plan to add him if we needed a third spinner. He is unlike any normal person. He is always in a jovial mood,” said Rana in the post-match presentation.
