It was an incredible night for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as they opened their account in IPL 2023 with a dominant win vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Eden Gardens witnessed the home team’s first victory of the season in the presence of KKR owners Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. The win was sweet but even sweeter was the performance of KKR’s young brigade – Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shardul Thakur, Rinku Singh and Suyash Sharma. Gurbaz struck a gritty 57 opening the innings while Rinku (46 off 33), Thakur (68 off 29) powered KKR to 204 for 7 after they were 89 for 5 at one stage while batting first. It was a confidence-boosting innings from Thakur who had a thing or two to prove as a T20 all-rounder.
The limelight was shared by another young player named Suyash Sharma, who picked up three crucial wickets for KKR. He came in as KKR’s Impact Player in this match and shone bright with 3 wickets. He dismised Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat and Karn Sharma to finish with figures of 3 for 30 from his four overs.
Who is KKR’s Suyash Sharma?
Suyash, 19, comes from Delhi and has not played any first-class match. He was bought by KKR at the IPL 2023 mini-auction for a sum of Rs 20 lakh and he is proving to be a steal deal for the Kolkata-based franchise. While he has not played domestic cricket for India yet, Suyash has represented Delhi in U-25 tournaments. Suyash was spotted by KKR’s scouting team and the franchise’s CEO Venky Mysore was happy that he got him at the auction.
Anuj Rawat __
Dinesh Karthik __Watch Suyash Sharma pick two quick wickets in his debut game.
Live – https://t.co/V0OS7tFZTB #TATAIPL #KKRvRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/3igG1jDWb4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2023
Frame this moment right now! __#KKRvRCB | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL 2023 pic.twitter.com/1lsKSEsOBS
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 6, 2023
Born on May 15, 2003, Suyash took up cricket after getting inspired by his brother, as per RevSportz. He started his career as a batter but soon fell in love with leg-spin bowling.
Varun Chakaravarthy is back
KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit will be happy to see mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy back in groove. The bowler finished with figures of four off 15 from 3.4 overs. The bite in his bowling is back and this is good news for Knight Riders going ahead. Pandit hailed the effort of the KKR boys. He said, “Have to congratulate Shardul Thakur and Rinku Singh for the way they batted. Varun bowled extremely well, even Sunny. And the newcomer provided support. We saw him in trial matches and were extremely happy with the way he bowled. He’s quick through the air, difficult to pick. He’s inexperienced but shows a very good attitude.”
