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Fans hilariously mocked Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after their batting collapse while chasing 205 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
RCB were in a commanding position in the first innings after they reduced KKR to 89/5 at one stage. However, Shardul Thakur came out all guns blazing in the last eight overs. Hi 29-ball 68, laced with nine fours and three sixes, powered the home team to a formidable 204/7 in the first innings.
RCB started the chase on a good note as Virat Kohli smashed Umesh Yadav for a boundary on the first ball. Skipper Faf du Plessis pummelled 16 runs off Tim Southee in just three balls.
Just as the visitors looked to up the ante at 42 for no loss after four overs, KKR skipper Nitish Rana introduced their potent weapon Sunil Narine into the attack. The West Indies wily spinner, who played his 150th IPL game, got into the act straight away.
Narine castled Kohli with a classic off-breaker to make it his fourth dismissal against the star Indian batter in the IPL overall. Varun Chakravarthy supported the senior KKR spinner from the other end.
The right-arm wrist spinner cleaned up the likes of Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, and Harshal Patel. Shahbaz Ahmed then attempted a reverse sweep against Narine only to get caught at the deep backward point.
RCB were reduced from 42/0 to 61/5 in the space of five overs. A 22-run stand between Michael Bracewell and Dinesh Karthik didn't last long with the former's dismissal. The visitors were soon down to 86/8 after 13 overs.
Fans shared funny reactions to the Bangalore-based side's dismal batting performance in a 205-run chase. Some reminded how KKR has owned RCB in the past, citing the infamous 49/10 in IPL 2017. Here are some of the reactions:
Shardul Thakur makes a strong comeback for KKR against RCB
Shardul Thakur came in to bat at No. 7 at the end of the 12th over. He stitched together a 103-run partnership with Rinku Singh (46 off 33 balls). He led the hosts' fightback after the visitors were in control of the game by removing half of the home side.
Thakur scored the joint-fastest fifty of IPL 2023 in just 21 balls, equalling Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler's feat against SRH in Hyderabad.
Earlier in the game, both David Willey and Karn Sharma struck back-to-back wickets to put KKR under pressure.
