IPL 2023: Shardul Thakur Says ‘Don’t Know Where it Came From’ After Heroics at Eden Gardens During KKR vs RCB

Kolkata: It was a night to remember for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they came back from nowhere to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 81 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday in front of a packed stadium. Thakur came up with the goods when KKR was reeling at 89 for five. He hit a brilliant 68 off 29 balls to power Kolkata past 200. Following the game, Thakur was awarded the man of the match. At the presentation, Thakur confessed he did not know where it came from. He credited the hard work that he put in during the nets and said that at times the subconscious takes over.

“I don’t even know where it came from but looking at the scorecard at that time, everyone would have thought we are struggling. But your subconscious mind takes over. You also have to have skills to do that at the higher level, but we also work hard in the nets. There is a period where we can slog it in the nets,” Thakur said at the presentation.

He also went on to thank the coach and the support staff for helping him deliver.

“Coaching staff do the throwdowns, and give us the option of range-hitting. And you know the pitches – they always suit the batsmen, don’t they?” Thakur added.

Defending 204, Kolkata’s three mystery spinners — Varun Chakaravarthy (4/15), Sunil Narine (2/16), and debutant Suyash Sharma (3/30) took nine wickets between themselves to bamboozle the RCB batters and bowl them out for 123 in 17.4 overs.

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 204/7 in 20 overs (Shardul Thakur 68, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 57; David Willey 2/16, Karn Sharma 2/26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123 all out in 17.4 overs (Faf du Plessis 23, Virat Kohli 21; Varun Chakaravarthy 4/15, Suyash Sharma 3/30) by 81 runs