In the ninth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and asked the home side to bat first. The innings began with a shocker for KKR fans as the side lost two wickets successively in the powerplay. Captain Nitish Rana also got out pretty soon just after the powerplay. But it Rahmanullah Gubaz (57), who stood tall from one end and scored a magnificent half century. Along with Gurbaz, Rinku Singh (46) also contributed valuable runs in the middle overs. There were wickets falling from one end and it was looking difficult for KKR to even post 160 runs on the board. Just when it was looking impossible, Shardul Thakur (68) changed the whole course of the game and took KKR to a total of 204/7 in 20 overs. Thakur hammered nine fours and three sixes in his innings which helped KKR revive from the early scare. Thakur alongside Rinku scored 103 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.
In the chase, RCB looked strong towards the commencement of the inning but soon after they just started to lose wickets one after the another. Faf du Plessis (23), Virat Kohli (21) and Michael Bracewell (19) were the only batters who showed some character but that too just for limited period. The team got bundled out for just 123 runs in just 17.4 overs.
Varun Chakaravarthy displayed his prime form tonight as he managed to grab four wickets which included some massive names. Debutant Suyash Sharma got struck for few maximums throughout his spell but even he managed to pick three wickets. Veteran Sunil Narine picked two wickets while Shardul Thakur also acquired one wicket.
Two wickets each were grabbed by David Willey and Karn Sharma. Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel and Michael Bracewell also picked up one wicket each.
Shardul Thakur was named Man of the Match for his quintessential batting performance. Following this win, KKR have finally bagged their first win of the season.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/7, Overs 20, Shardul Thakur 68, David Willey 16/2
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 123/10, Overs 17.4, Faf du Plessis 23, Varun Chakaravarthy 4/15