Kolkata Knight Riders outplayed Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 match at the Eden Gardens on Monday night. Nitish Rana, the captain, wanted to bat first but lost the toss.
The team took regular wickets and restricted Punjab to 179/7 in 20 overs. In response, KKR got off to a respectable start, but they too lost wickets at regular intervals. However, Nitish, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh scored valuable runs to take their franchise to a five-wicket victory.
Many people were surprised to see Rana not utilizing Shardul Thakur in any form. Shardul didn’t bowl as the KKR skipper opted for Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora to do the job.
Shardul did not get a chance to score runs as he came out to bat on the last ball . Looking at the situation, former India spinner and coach Anil Kumble slammed Nitish. “He probably would be marking his run up at the Oval (WTC Final). He doesn’t get an over which is very strange. He’s a quality bowler. Yes he gives runs but he has the knack to pick wickets as well,” he said.
While the decision to not use Shardul raises questions over his fitness. This was the second time in the season when Shardul was not asked to bowl a single over despite him being a part of the playing XI.