Kolkata Knight Riders were 89/5 when Andre Russell fell for a first-ball duck in the Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in Kolkata.
Enter Shardul Thakur to join Rinku Singh.
In what will go down as one of the partnerships of the season without a doubt, Thakur blazed his way to a stunning 29-ball 68 while Singh joined in later on with a solid 33-ball 46. The 103-run partnership for the sixth wicket took KKR to 204/7 in 20 overs.
David Willey first and Karn Sharma later pegged KKR back with wickets off consecutive deliveries. But Thakur, who was traded in the off-season to KKR from Delhi Capitals, joined Singh to stitch together a fiery partnership that entertained Eden Gardens crowd on IPL’s return to the iconic venue.
Here are some reactions to KKR’s batting recovery:
Bet you wouldn't have imagined #KKR waltzing over 200 from 89-5 in the 12th. But the Lord does these things and the faithful Rinku joins in.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 6, 2023
Wow! Shardul Thakur is a genius. What a comeback for KKR. Great great fight back. This was relentless stuff.
— Danish Sait (@DanishSait) April 6, 2023
Shardul Thakur in beast mode! #kkr
— neeru bhatia (@neerubhatia3) April 6, 2023
KKR at 11.3rd over - 89/5
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 6, 2023
KKR at 20th over - 204/7
Lord Shardul .. Lord Rinku ..
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 6, 2023
Zabardast clean hitting #RcbvKKR
Let the praises continue... 👏👏👏
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 6, 2023
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘂𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗿 𝟲𝟴(𝟮𝟵) https://t.co/pZSiVjuMBQ
SHARDUL THAKUR you beauty @KKRiders 🔥🏏
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 6, 2023
SRK (shardul, rinku, king khan) at Eden Gardens 😍😍
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 6, 2023
79% - @imShard struck 79% of his 68 runs from boundaries surpassing R. Gurbaz (74% - also in the #KKRvRCB game) to become the @KKRiders batter with the highest such rate logged when scoring 50+ this season; it is also his first 50+ score in the @IPL. Class. #TATAIPL #IPL2023 https://t.co/dDNKVoVt0T pic.twitter.com/zpJ53zLAZ2
— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) April 6, 2023
🔥 9 fours. 3 sixes.
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 6, 2023
🥈 The second-highest score for a No. 7 batter in the history of the tournament
Shardul Thakur led a spirited comeback for KKR; RCB need 205 to win 🎯https://t.co/HBYVM6YADR | #KKRvRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/hBMSNdQnra
Nothing much. Just an old VK tweet.
— Umaima Saeed (@UmaimaSaeed) April 6, 2023
🤪#KKRvsRCB #IPL23 pic.twitter.com/t4C4Wo4vdw
Coming in at 89/5 from 69 balls without a lot of batting to come, a lot of players would just try to ‘rebuild’ and take low risk options.
— Dan Weston (@SAAdvantage) April 6, 2023
However there’s no real point nurdling to a team total of 140 ish - may as well go all out for 180+.
Great to see this from Shardul. https://t.co/hormJsRK7e
Holllllly moly! A 48 ball 103 run partnership for the 6th wicket. Lord Shardul and Rinku Singh. Insane hitting by the two. #KKRvsRCB #IPL2023
— Ridhima Pathak (@PathakRidhima) April 6, 2023
#IPL2023
— Samreen (@SamreenRazz) April 6, 2023
Okay, so the real RCB have turned up. Lord Shardul was in some zone but how bad was that death bowling display from Harshal and Siraj.... no words.
Shardul surely playing like Thakur. Brilliant inning under pressure. #KKRvRCB
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 6, 2023
Shardul ThaKKR. #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/hunwKX2QM0
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 6, 2023
Bowlers' parents at night - 𝙎𝙤 𝙟𝙖𝙖𝙤 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙖 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙪𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙖𝙟𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙜𝙖 😉@imShard unleashed a blitzkrieg in #KKRvRCB 🤯#TATAIPL #IPL2023 #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/epRk0yUbgb
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 6, 2023
Earlier, RCB opted to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. While RCB replaced injured pacer Reece Topley with David Willey, KKR brought in Venkatesh Iyer into the first XI.