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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana has stated that while he was always aware of the kind of impact Shardul Thakur can make with the bat, the all-rounder's performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) exceeded expectations.
Thakur hammered 68 off only 29 balls against RCB at Eden Gardens on Thursday, April 6. He hit nine fours and three sixes as KKR recovered from 89/5 to post 204/7 after being asked to bat. In response, Bangalore folded up for 123 in 17.4 overs.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, Rana shared his thoughts on Thakur’s innings and commented:
The way (Rahmanullah) Gurbaz batted at the start and the way Shardul batted… For Shardul, I would like to say that I knew he could make a big impact as a batsman. But the way he batted was well above my expectations. What else does a captain need? If an all-rounder of yours can bat in such a manner in such a situation, what else do you need?"
Thakur and Rinku Singh (46 off 33) added 103 runs for the sixth wicket to lift KKR out of trouble and put them in a commanding position. Praising Rinku, Rana paid him a huge compliment and said:
“Rinku’s innings was as important as Shardul’s innings. We all know his ability. He can hit sixes at will. I told him that you can hit sixes anytime, but if you can hold one end up till the 19th or 20th over, then do it. He did it.”
Rinku’s innings ended in the 19th over when he was dismissed by Harshal Patel. Thakur fell in the last over, trying to take on Mohammed Siraj.
“Varun’s comeback is very important for us” - Nitish Rana
On the bowling front, Varun Chakaravarthy stood out with figures of 4/15, while Sunil Narine claimed 2/16. Young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who came in as the impact player also shone with 3/30. Sharing his views on the team’s bowling performance, Rana commented:
“I have a lot of confidence in them (Varun and Narine) when it comes to the middle overs. I don’t need to say anything about Sunny (Narine), given the kind of performances he has come up with over the years. But yes, Varun’s comeback is very important for us.
"Last year, he did not have such a good season. The way he has bowled in the first two games, though, a captain cannot ask for much more.”
Chakaravarthy bowled Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, and Harshal Patel to pave the way for KKR’s 81-run triumph.
