Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a big win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday. Batting first, KKR were boosted by half-centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Shardul Thakur, while Rinku Singh scored a fiery 46 as the team notch a total of 204/7. Chasing the huge total, RCB could never find a solid stand as they were all out for 123 in 17.4 overs. With the win KKR rose from the seventh place to the third place (2 points in 2 games, NRR +2.056) while RCB went down from the third place to seventh spot (2 points in 2 games, NRR -1.256). The Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (4 points in 2 games, NRR +0.700) continue to hold the top spot in the points table.
Orange Cap
There was no change in the highest run-scorers' list after the KKR vs RCB match. CSK's Ruturaj Gaikwad (149), Lucknow's Kyle Mayers (126) and PBKS' Shikhar Dhawan (126) hold the top three places in the race for Orange Cap.
Purple cap
There was no change in the top wicket-taker's list too after the KKR vs RCB match. LSG's Mark Wood (8 wickets), GT's Rashid Khan (5 wickets) and LSG's Ravi Bishnoi hold the the top three places in the race for Purple Cap.
Talking about the match, Rahmanullah Gurbaz stood tall amid the ruins with a maiden IPL fifty before Shardul Thakur's counter-attacking 68 from 29 balls propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to an imposing 204 for seven against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday.
On a day explosive KKR batter Andre Russell fell for a golden duck, Gurbaz (57; 44b) laid the foundation before Thakur showed his mettle as a powerhitter to take them past 200-mark after RCB opted to bowl.
First, it was the Afghanistan recruit who revived their fortunes from a sloppy start, before Thakur came in at No 7 to give the team a final flourish in an entertaining 103-run (47b) sixth wicket partnership with Rinku Singh (46; 33b).