Shardul Thakur became the talk of the town after his magnificent knock helped Kolkata Knight Riders clinch a comfortable 81-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Asked to bat first, KKR were reduced to 89/5 in 12 overs despite a quick 57-run knock from opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. It was then Shardul, who stitched a massive 103-run partnership with Rinku Singh and helped KKR reach a total of 204/7 in 20 overs. Shardul smashed 68 off 29 balls while Rinku contributed with 46 off 33 balls. Later, RCB were bundled out for 123 as KKR registered their first win of IPL 2023.
Shardul not just only contributed with the bat but also scalped a wicket and bagged the Player of the Match award. Taking to Twitter, KKR posted a picture of the 31-year-old all-rounder, where he can be seen posing with all the awards he won for his performance against RCB.
"Oh my Lord," the caption of the tweet was a reference to the nickname given to Shardul by the fans.
Shardul smashed a counter-attacking half-century before the spinners played their part to perfection as Kolkata Knight Riders made a memorable homecoming with an 81-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
KKR found themselves tottering for 89/5 before Thakur led a superb recovery with his 29-ball 68 to power his team to 204/7 after RCB opted to bowl.
Coming in at No 7, Thakur hammered the joint-fastest fifty of the season off 20 balls and shared an entertaining 103-run wicket partnership off 47 balls with Rinku Singh (46 off 33).
In reply, RCB failed to go the distance and folded up for 123 in 17.4 overs with the trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and debutant Suyash Sharma sharing eight wickets between themselves.
It was KKR's first win of the season. Thakur also took one wicket in his all-round show in KKR's first home match after almost four years.
(With PTI Inputs)