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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli failed to score substantially in a steep chase of 205 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday (April 6).
The stalwart began the second innings on a grand note by smashing a boundary. Kohli also hit a four off the final ball of the same over to cap off a brilliant start. Things slowed down a bit during the next two overs as KKR pacers bowled tight lines.
Virat Kohli once again got back to aggressive ways in the fourth over, bowled by Tim Southee. Faf du Plessis and Kohli accumulated 23 runs off the over to take RCB to 43/0 in 4 overs.
After a costly over, KKR captain Nitish Rana immediately brought in seasoned spinner Sunil Narine into the attack. The move bore fruit straight away as Narine cleaned up Kohli to give his side their first breakthrough.
Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Faf du Plessis in the very next over in a similar fashion as RCB lost their in-form openers in a daunting chase.
You can watch the wicket-taking deliveries below:
Shardul Thakur's blazing knock lifts KKR to 204/7 after a batting order collapse against RCB
After being asked to bat first, KKR's top order failed to perform yet again. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (57 off 44 balls) was the lone bright spot in the top order as he hit his maiden fifty in the IPL and kept KKR's innings on track. After his dismissal, KKR found themselves in huge trouble with 89/5 on the board after 11.3 overs.
However, Shardul Thakur (68 off 29 balls) produced his finest IPL knock at this juncture and helped KKR cruise to 204/7. He stitched a 103-run partnership with Rinku Singh (46 off 33 balls) to turn the tide for the Kolkata-based franchise.
Speaking about the match-defining partnership after the first innings, Rinku Singh said:
"We (Shardul Thakur and him) had a very good partnership. We thought about taking it deep and to the end and not losing wickets. My plan was to stick around till the end. Thakur was striking it well so I kept handing the strike over to him. The pitch is slow and we've got a very good total."
