Shardul Thakur carried out unbelievably successfully: RCB captain Faf du Plessis doffs his hat to KKR all-rounder

RCB captain Faf du Plessis doffed his hat to KKR all-rounder Shardul Thakur for his belligerent knock in Kolkata’s thumping win at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Kolkata,UPDATED: Apr 6, 2023 23:47 IST

Shardul Thakur carried out unbelievably successfully: Faf du Plessis doffs his hat to KKR all-rounder (AP Photo)

By India Today Sports Desk: Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis was in awe of Shardul Thakur and hailed the KKR all-rounder for his smart 68-run knock as Kolkata romped home to their first win of the IPL 2023.

Shardul, Varun Chakravarthy, and youthful spinner Suyash Sharma starred in Kolkata Knight Riders’ 81-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. After worthwhile the toss and electing to bowl first, RCB bowlers shocked KKR batters, reducing the home facet to 89/5, nonetheless a sensational batting present from Shardul and Rinku Singh guided the two-time champions to a fight-worthy complete of 204/7. 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).

“We had set it up nicely with the ball, probably at 100/5 around 13 overs, we kind of gave away 20-25 runs extra on that wicket. Shardul played incredibly well, he took the game away from us and KKR’s leg-spinners bowled brilliantly,” Faf du Plessis talked about throughout the post-match presentation ceremony.

IPL 2023, KKR vs RCB: Highlights

“They got on top of us, with Narina and Chakaravarthy, they put the squeeze on us really well. Because that’s the nature of leg spinners or mystery spinners. It was still a good wicket, our batting was very average and even when we lose games like these we need to ensure that we get close to the target, at least around 160 tonight.

Royal Challengers Bangalore started their 205-run chase well, with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis stitching together a 44-run opening stand. However, Sunil Narine drew first blood, taking Kohli’s wickets, which opened the floodgates and marked the beginning of the end. RCB slumped from 44/0 to 61/5 as KKR bowled them out for 123 runs with spinners taking 9 wickets for the first time in IPL history.

“The recreation of T20 cricket strikes so fast, we’re going to try and be taught our lessons, merely guaranteeing we tweak points we work on. It’s truthful to say tonight, it obtained just a bit bit away from us, tactically we might have been just a bit larger. Death bowling isn’t the most effective jobs to do, Siraj and Harshal are top quality bowlers on the demise and easily wish to confirm, we work on our plans just a bit bit,” Faf concluded.

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Apr 6, 2023