IPL 2023: 'Lord' Shardul runs riot against RCB, becomes fastest Indian to hit 50

Shardul Thakur and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (57 off 44 balls) cracked fine half-centuries while Rinku Singh scored a 33-ball 46 as KKR made a fine recovery from 89 for five

Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur looked an organised player and anchored the innings with a calm and composed 29-ball-68 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a competitive 204 for 7 in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. Both Thakur and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (57 off 44 balls) cracked fine half-centuries while Rinku Singh scored a 33-ball 46 as KKR made a fine recovery from 89 for five. 

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 power-hitter to take them past 200-mark after RCB opted to bowl. With this innings, Thakur became the fastest Indian to smash a half-century in the ongoing edition of the tournament. The 31-year-old has played a blinder so far and has taken his side out of the mud. Thakur came into bat when KKR were at 89/5, but then has played an inning to remember. He showed impeccable skills of batting and cleared the fence with ease with his shots.

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Shardul Thakur completely changed the tone of the innings with his entertaining 68 off 29 balls and he becomes our Top Performer from the first innings of the #KKRvRCB contest in the #TATAIPL.

Take a look at his batting summary 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/x2QlRLsNix

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2023

Coming to the match, KKR were reeling at 47/3 but Gurbaz led the charge against the 'local' Bengal pacer Akash Deep, pulling him for a six before collecting back-to-back boundaries. Overall, he hit six fours and three sixes. Gurbaz took a review to overturn an LBW decision on 30 and raced to a 38-ball fifty with a powerful sweep over long leg boundary.

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Thakur then took Akash Deep to cleaners in his knock studded with nine fours and three sixes. Apart from Willey (4-1-16-2), none of the RCB bowlers failed to impress and Akash Deep conceded 30 runs from his two overs. Siraj also looked wayward and returned with 1/44 from his four overs. They also leaked 23 runs in extras. 

(With PTI inputs)

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