Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs in yesterday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Sent into bat after losing the toss, Kolkata recovered from a horror start to post 204/7 as Shardul Thakur slammed 68 off only 29 balls. Varun Chakravarthy (4/15) then shone with the ball as RCB were restricted to 123 in 17.4 overs.
KKR got off to a poor start with the bat as David Willey cleaned up Venkatesh Iyer (3) and Mandeep Singh (0) off consecutive deliveries in the fourth over. Kolkata skipper Nitish Rana also fell cheaply. He gloved a reverse sweep off Michael Bracewell to the keeper having made only 1.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept the runs coming from one end. He reached a fine half-century in style, sweeping Karn Sharma for a maximum. His innings ended when he reverse-swept the leg-spinner to short third man. Andre Russell’s (0) stay lasted just one ball as he miscued a big hit.
Thakur, however, played a splendid knock to put KKR on top. He struck three fours and a six in his first eight balls, racing away to 21. In the 15th over, he took on Michael Bracewell and clubbed him for consecutive sixes. Thakur reached his fifty off 20 balls by pulling Harshal Patel for a boundary.
A few more big hits followed before he was dismissed in the last over, trying to take on Mohammed Siraj. At the other end, Rinku Singh also played a fine hand of 46. The duo added 103 for the sixth wicket to lift KKR from a precarious 89/5.
Varun Chakravarthy spins out RCB
Chasing 205, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB early hope, adding 44 in quick time. However, once the opening stand was broken, Bangalore crumbled in shocking fashion.
Kohli (21 off 18) was the first to go, cleaned up by Sunil Narine as he looked to play across the line. Du Plessis (23 off 12) also fell in the next over, bowled by Chakravarthy. The KKR spinner kept hitting the stumps, dismissing Glenn Maxwell (5) and Harshal Patel (0), promoted in the batting order, in one over.
RCB had lost half their side for 61 when Shahbaz Ahmed (1) reverse-swept Narine straight to deep point. 19-year-old leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who was brought in as the impact player, then helped himself to three wickets as Bangalore kept losing wickets.
Willey (20*) and Akash Deep (17) ensured RCB at least crossed the 120-mark, but the match was clearly dominated by KKR.
KKR vs RCB: Who Won Player of the Match in yesterday’s IPL 2023 match?
Kolkata opener Gurbaz scored an impressive half-century, while Rinku contributed a defiant 46. Thakur played a spectacular knock, slamming nine fours and three sixes in his 29-ball 68. He also picked up the wicket of Bracewell.
With the ball, Chakravarthy was outstanding as he registered a four-wicket haul. Narine (2/16) and Suyash (3/30) also made an impact.
For RCB, Willey claimed 2/16 in his four overs and scored an unbeaten 20.
Thakur was named Player of the Match for his fantastic innings that came when his team was in a desperate situation.