Tag: Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2024: Why KKR players were forced to spend a night in Varanasi?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Kolkata Knight Riders team were faced a challenging situation when they were compelled to spend a night in Varanasi after their flight from Lucknow to Kolkata encountered multiple diversions due to adverse weather conditions.

Following their impressive 98-run victory against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, the Shreyas Iyer-led team embarked on their journey back to Kolkata on Monday evening at 5.45 pm. The original plan was to reach Kolkata by 7.25 pm, the same day.

However, their charter flight had to make unplanned stops first at Guwahati, and then in Varanasi, as landing in Kolkata became unfeasible due to severe weather conditions.

The KKR media team kept the public updated, first announcing at 8.46 PM, “Due to inclement weather over Kolkata, the KKR charter flight has been diverted to Guwahati. We’ve just landed here.” Subsequently, at 9:43 PM, another update stated, “We’ve received clearance to fly back to Kolkata from Guwahati. Estimated arrival time: 11 PM.” Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, the flight couldn’t land in Kolkata, leading to its mid-air diversion to Varanasi, as mentioned in an update at 1:15 am.

After 20 Hour Delay due to Weather Knights are Finally on their way Back to Kolkata . pic.twitter.com/OqmcCIoCpP

— Kolkata Knight Riders Universe (@KKRUniverse) May 7, 2024

The KKR team then spent the night in Varanasi, with plans to travel to Kolkata the following afternoon, as communicated in the final update from the KKR media team at 3:00 AM.

“The team will be checking into a hotel in Varanasi for an overnight stay. The return flight to Kolkata will be determined on Tuesday (May 7) afternoon,” stated the KKR media team.

Nonetheless, KKR’s upcoming match against Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens is scheduled for May 11. The two-time former champions will also face Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 13 and Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on May 19 for their final two league matches.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

LSG vs KKR IPL 2024 highlights: KKR gives an all-round performance by winning against LSG by 98 runs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 137/9

Varun Chakravarthy bags 9th wicket of LSG in the 16th over

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 98/4

Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran have a big challenge. LSG needs 14.13 runs per over to win this match and the current RR is 9.48

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 85/4

LSG needs 151 runs in 66 balls

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 77/3

Harshit Rana gets skipper KL Rahul; Lucknow 3 wickets down

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 66/1

KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis holding up the chase for Lucknow

The team has pulled off a few winning games in recent matches but in the team playing XI only a few names perform every time. Is that a matter of concern?

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: LSG 24/1

Mitchell Starc gets Lucknow opener Arshin Kulkarni

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders sets a target of 235 runs against Lucknow

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: KKR 196/4

Looks like Lucknow Super Giants will fail to restrict KKR to 200

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: KKR 139/1

Sunil Narine completes his half-century against Lucknow. LSG bowlers need to rethink to get this big fish otherwise there will be more chances of it being a 200+ run chasing game.

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: KKR 92/1

Sunil Narine reaching closer to fifty, he is in great form and scoring runs for KKR in

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: KKR 79/1

Naveen-ul-Haq gets Phil Salt; KKR 1 wicket down

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: KKR 29/0

Phil Salt is going for bigger shots to get runs in the powerplay

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: Last match recap

LSG were far from convincing in their previous assignment at Ekana Stadium here as they were made to work hard in a modest 145-run chase by Mumbai Indians, winning by just four wickets in the last over.

Skipper Rahul and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis have been the key players for LSG and it remains to be seen if South Africa veteran Quinton de Kock is brought back in place of young Arshin Kulkarni, who opened the innings in the last game.

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: Playing XI

KKR: P Salt, S Narine, V Iyer, S Iyer, Rinku Singh, A Raghuvanshi, A Russell, Ramandeep Singh, M Starc, H Rana, V Chakravarthy.
Impact: Anukul, Pandey, Vaibhav, Bharat, Rutherford

LSG: KL Rahul, M Stoinis, D Hooda, N Pooran, A Turner, A Badoni, K Pandya, R Bishnoi, N Ul Haq, Mohsin Khan, Y Thakur.

LSG vs KKR Live Score IPL 2024: Lucknow Super Giants will have to bring their A’ game forward to prevail against a dominant Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams, marching towards IPL playoffs, clash on Sunday.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

KKR pacer Harshit Rana faces 60% of match fee for IPL code of conduct violation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana has been fined 60 percent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s four-run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens.

According to an IPL statement, Rana breached the rules under Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct on Saturday.

“He was fined 10 percent and 50 percent of his match fees for the two respective offenses,” the statement said. While the IPL statement did not detail the incident, which attracted the code of conduct violation, it could be the 22-year-old’s celebration following Mayank Agarwal’s wicket. After dismissing Agarwal in the sixth over, Rana walked before the SRH opener and blew him a flying kiss.

“Rana committed two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct,” said the IPL statement. “Rana admitted to the two offenses and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” it added.

Rana kept his calm and defended 13 runs in the last over to give KKR a winning start to the season.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

RCB vs KKR IPL 2023 match 36 preview: Bangalore seek revenge of reverse fixture loss against Kolkata

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In the first reverse fixture of IPL 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are set to welcome Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at their home stadium of M Chinaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

RCB head into this fixture with springs in their steps after recording back-to-back wins over Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their previous two fixtures.

But things are not the same for KKR as they are on a losing streak of four matches. Their latest defeat was against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

Also Read: DC captain David Warner fined 12 lakh under the IPL’s Code of Conduct

The fortunes of the two teams has meant that while RCB are fifth on the IPL 2023 points table with four wins and three losses from the first seven matches, KKR are stuck on eighth spot managing only two wins while suffering five defeats from their first set of league games.

Safe to say that Wednesday’s encounter is crucial for KKR to keep their playoff hopes alive. Another loss for the Nitish Rana-led side and things will become difficult for his side in the later stage of the tournament.

What transpired between KKR and RCB earlier in the season?

Things were quiet different when the two teams faced-off at the Eden Gardens earlier in the season. It was a match of fluctuating fortunes, where KKR defeated RCB by a handsome margin of 81 runs.

Batting first KKR were propelled to a strong total of 204/7 thanks to a fifty by wicketkeeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the order and a late bluster by Rinku Singh (46 in 33 balls) and whirlwind knock of 68 in 29 deliveries by all-rounder Shardul Thakur.

RCB’s response to the target of 205 was timid as the team was all-out on 123 thanks to a 4-wicket haul by Varun Chakaravarthy and three wickets by debutant Suyash Sharma.

The two teams have experienced contrasting sets of fortune since that match in Kolkata. While KKR’s form has nosedived, RCB have been on the up.

Is Faf du Plessis’ fitness a concern for RCB?

RCB’s regular captain Faf du Plessis has been in sublime form this year. The former South African captain has hit five fifties and accumulated 405 runs to currently hold the Orange Cap. Such has been his form that he is 91 runs clear from his nearest competitor, Devon Conway, in the race to win the Orange Cap.

du Plessis’s suberb run has eased the pressure on the likes of Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell, who themselves are in goo nick.

But there is a slight concern around du Plessis’ fitness. The RCB skipper sustained a rib injury while batting against CSK. It meant that the 38-year-old was not fit enough to start in the playing XI for the matches against PBKS and RR. However, the team smartly made use of the Impact Player rule to utilize du Plessis only as a batter in the two games. With du Plessis not starting for RCB in the last two games, the burden of captaincy fell on the shoulders of Kohli.

The way the team has performed under Kohli in the last two matches, it looks like the team management will be happy with the way things are, i.e. Kohli continues to captain the team and du Plessis is used as a substitute.

Team’s bowling attack also looks in good shape with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj being the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 13 scalps along with Arshdeep Singh. Medium pacer Harshal Patel has also touched double digits this season as his 3 wickets against RR took his wicket tally to 10.

Unsettled KKR

While RCB’s playing XI is more or less stable, KKR still seem to be figuring out their best playing XI with half of the season done and dusted.

The team is tempering with the opening combination frequently. The team’s opening pair in its last five matches have been these: Narayan Jagadeesan-Sunil Narine (vs CSK), Jason Roy-Liton Day (vs DC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz-Narayan Jagadeesan (vs MI, SRH and GT).

Only three batters seem to getting runs at consistent basis for the team at the moment. Venkatesh Iyer is the team’s leading run scorer and has hit a hundred and a fifty. Rinku Singh has slammed two half centuries and captain Nitish Rana has notched one fifty.

In the bowling department, KKR have been too reliant on its spin troika  of Varun Chakaravarthy, Suyash Sharma and Sunil Narine. Among the three spinners only Chakaravarthy has managed to hit the double digit mark this season.

The lack of wickets from other bowlers can be estimated from the fact that Rana, who is not a regular bowler, has the same number of wickets (2) as premium pacer Umesh Yadav.

Waning form of star all-rounder Andre Russell has also added to team’s issues.

Predicted playing XIs

RCB predicted playing XI:

Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel

KKR predicted playing XI

N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

CNBCTV18.com winner preeiction: RCB

Player to watch out for

Faf du Plessis (RCB)

RCB captain Faf du Plessis is middling the ball well this season. With 405 runs , he holds the Orange Cap. Most importantly, Virat Kohli seems to be enjoying batting at the top of the order with du Plessis. With the team back at its base, expect du Plessis to entertain the home fans with some more lusty hits.

Rinku Singh (KKR)

Only Rinku Singh seems to be the most consistent KKR batter right now. He has notched the scores of 4,46,48*, 58*, 18,6 and 53* in this campaign. Not to forget his five sixes in five balls against Gujarat Titans that helped KKR snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Till the time Singh is batting, KKR’s batting  seems to be alive and kicking.

Pitch:

Expect a batting-friendly track at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Where to watch LIVE stream

The match will be telecast on the Star Sports Network and it will be digitally streamed on the JioCinema application. The game will commence at 7:30 pm on Wednesday.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Jhoome Jo Rinku’ – Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shahrukh Khan heaps praise on Rinku Singh after final over miracle against Gujarat Titans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) player Rinku Singh’s magnificent feat of hitting five consecutive sixes to help the team chase down 29 in the final over against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Sunday earned him praise from franchise owner and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan.

Taking to Twitter, Khan wrote, “JHOOME JO RINKUUUUU !!! My baby @rinkusingh235 And @NitishRana_27 & @venkateshiyer you beauties!!! And remember Believe that’s all. Congratulations @KKRiders and @VenkyMysore take care of your heart sir!”

Also Read: Watch: Rinku Singh goes 6,6,6,6 and 6 against Yash Dayal to pull of a stunning run chase for Kolkata Knight Riders

The 57-year-old further edited Rinku’s picture and placed it on the official poster of his recent blockbuster hit ‘Pathaan’.

JHOOME JO RINKUUUUU !!! My baby @rinkusingh235 And @NitishRana_27 & @venkateshiyer you beauties!!! And remember Believe that’s all. Congratulations @KKRiders and @VenkyMysore take care of your heart sir! pic.twitter.com/XBVq85FD09

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 9, 2023

KKR looked well and out of the contest as they were seven wickets down and required 28 runs off the last five deliveries.

Rinku, struggling at 18 off 16 deliveries till that point, decided to bring out the carnage as he deposited three consecutive full-tosses from Yash Dayal into the stands. Dayal corrected his length following lengthy discussions with stand-in captain Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill but the southpaw had gotten in the groove till then and hit one over mid-wicket before going down town straight over the bowler’s head to round off one of the most iconic run chases in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Thank you sir for your kind words. But in all honesty, this is Rinku’s world and we are all living in it 😅💜 https://t.co/9MgHOrcbhI

— Nitish Rana (@NitishRana_27) April 9, 2023

Also Read: IPL 2023 GT vs KKR highlights: Rinku Singh blasts Yash Dayal for five sixes in last over to pull off an extraordinary run chase for Kolkata Knight Riders

“Had the belief that I can do it. Last year I was in a similar situation in Lucknow. Had the belief back then too. Didn’t think too much out there. Those shots just happened one after the other. That last one was back of the hand, and I struck it off the back foot,” the 25-year-old reflected on his performance in the aftermath of the game.

Skipper Nitish Rana mentioned in the post-match presentation ceremony that people often probe him about Rinku not getting a bigger role in the playing XI. Rana responded, “I want to say to those reporters if this is the second role, imagine what he can do with the first role.”

KKR will next face the Sunrsiers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GT vs KKR: Rashid’s hat-trick, Rinku’s five sixes in last over and Kolkata Knight Riders miraculous run chase

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The gargantuan Narendra Modi Stadium proved to be too small and an asking rate of 29 too less for Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh, who hammered five consecutive sixes to seal a miraculous three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL on Sunday.

Just when it seemed everything was lost for KKR after wily Afghanistan spinner and stand-in captain Rashid Khan had taken a hat-trick in the 17th over to reduce KKR to 155/7, Rinku (48 not out off 21 balls) did the Houdini Act to eke out one of the most memorable wins in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Also Read: Ball-by-ball look back into what transpired in the last over of Kolkata Knight Rider’s successful run chase against Gujarat Titans

KKR needed 29 runs in the final over to attain the winning target of 205. Umesh Yadav took a single to give the strike to Rinku, who looked like a genius with the bat.

It seemed like he was waving a magic wand, which could fetch him a maximum at his beck and call. With 28 needed off the last five balls, Rinku took the aerial route on all five deliveries to conjure up magic hardly ever seen before in an IPL game.

Even as a wave of jubilation spread in the KKR camp, the Titans dugout went silent.

Venkatesh Iyer was the other hero for KKR on the day. Before Rinku unleashed his full fury to silence the crowd and leave the Titans fielders looking skyward, the 28-year-old Madhya Pradesh batter made a real ‘impact’ and brought KKR to the doorstep of victory with a smashing 84 off 40 deliveries, as the two-time IPL champions looked set to chase down the 200-plus target.

The left-handed batter’s 100-run partnership with captain Nitish Rana (45 off 29 balls) was the cornerstone of KKR’s massive fight-back and came days after both the batters had failed in their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens on April 6.

Putting the disappointment of scoring just three runs in the previous game on the back-burner, Iyer — who came in as an ‘Impact Player’ for Suyash Sharma — took the stadium by storm, unleashing eight fours and five sixes, leaving the Titans baffled.

Iyer came to the crease at fall of Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was picked ahead of England opener Jason Roy, and he regaled the packed stadium with his lusty hitting.

Iyer’s dismissal in the 16th over, following an Alzarri Joseph yorker that cramped him for space and he ended up hitting it straight to Gill at long on, sent a wave of jubilation in the Titans camp.

Rashid, who was leading the team in the absence of an unwell Hardik Pandya, then weaved magic in the 17th over, dismissing the dangerous West Indian middle-order batter Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur off the first three deliveries of his last over to virtually seal the win.

But he had no inkling about Rinku’s plans. And when it unfolded, it spelt doom for the Titans.

Earlier, a captivating batting display from Gujarat Titans’ Vijay Shankar, a fine half-century from young top-order batter Sai Sudharsan saw the defending champions put on a formidable total on the board.

Sudharsan, who had scored an unbeaten 62 against Delhi Capitals in the previous match, struck 53 off 38 balls, studded with three boundaries and two maximums, while Shankar took just 24 balls to score an unbeaten 63, embellished with four boundaries and five sixes, as the Titans made hay.

Young Shubman Gill too came to the party, scoring a feisty 39 and sharing a 67-run partnership with Sudharsan before he was dismissed by West Indian spinner Sunil Narine.

The maturity Gill and Sudharsan displayed after opener Wriddhiman Saha had departed early, dismissed by Narine for just 17 runs (17 balls), helped the team overcome the early setback and take the total to 100 runs without losing any further wicket.

The pair’s half-century stand laid the foundation and by the time Gill departed, holing out a length delivery from Narine at long-on in the 12th over, he had put the Titans well on course for a big total.

The left-handed Sudharsan flourished from the moment he arrived at the crease at the fall of Saha. He kept picking up handy runs, including a six, as the pair kept the scoreboard ticking.

The best part about the partnership was that the pair kept rotating the strike, taking singles at the first opportunity to keep the opposition on tenterhooks.

Gill’s dismissal, which came as a big blow, brought in Abhinav Manohar, who plundered three consecutive boundaries off Umesh Yadav in the 13th over. But his cameo 14-run innings off just eight deliveries was brought to an end by Delhi teenager Suyash Sharma, whose googly ripped through the gap between the bat and pad to dismiss the batter.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Watch: Rinku Singh goes 6,6,6,6 and 6 against Yash Dayal to pull of a stunning run chase for Kolkata Knight Riders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pocket-sized middle-order batter Rinku Singh produced one of the moments of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and possibly one of the top moments in whole of IPL as he blasted five sixes off five balls in the last over of the run chase against Gujarat Titans to pull-off an extraordinary run chase.

Batting first GT had set a target of 208 for KKR to win the match. The match seemed dead and buried for KKR as they were left 176/7 after 19 overs. That meant that two-time champions KKR needed 29 runs off the last over to win the match with Singh and Umesh Yadav left in the middle.

With GT in a slightly comfortable position, the team’s stand-in skipper Rashid Khan handed the responsibility to bowl the most decisive over of the game to left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal.

Before Dayal stepped up to bowl, he had given away 38 runs runs from his preceding  3 overs.

The match looked all the more titled in GT’s favour as it was Yadav who had to face the first delivery of the last over.

But Yadav possibly took the most important single of his KKR career as he steered the first ball of the last over towards deep mid-wicket for a single and hand Singh the strike.

The equation for KKR now stood at 28 needed off 5 balls with Singh on strike. No one following the match could have dared to imagine what transpired in next five deliveries.

Singh dared his luck, chanced his arms and in a display of brilliant power hitting smashed Dayal for five sixes in five balls to pull off a win for KKR from the jaws of defeat.

The first six was over extra-cover of a full-toss that was wide outside the off stump.

Then, Dayal then dished out another full toss which Singh whipped off his pads to make the ball sail over backward square-leg.

Under pressure now, Dayal failed to control his deliveries as he sent down a third successive full toss which Singh powered over long-off boundary.

With 19 runs already conceded Dayal was called in a team meeting that was attended by Rashid and David Miller.

Rashid and Miller’s words had little effect of Dayal as he next bowled a slower back of the hand delivery short of length. To this Singh flat-batted the ball over long-on to make 4 sixes in 4 balls.

Finally Dayal bowled a slow short ball on the last delivery of the over which Singh muscled over long-off to make it 5 sixes in 5 balls to complete one of the most remarkable run chases in IPL history.

Watch: Rinku Singh’s 5 sixes off five balls below

“Because he’s the Knight #KKR deserves and the one they need right now” – Rinku Singh 😎#GTvKKR #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/b1QrN3fLjX

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 9, 2023

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IPL 2023 GT vs KKR highlights: Rinku Singh blasts Yash Dayal for five sixes in last over to pull off an extraordinary run chase for Kolkata Knight Riders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Suyash Sharma is normal leg-break bowler but with x-factor, says KKR skipper Nitish Rana

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana played down talks of young Suyash Sharma being a “mystery spinner” as he termed him as a normal leg-break bowler but with ‘x-factor’.

The little known Delhi U-25 spinner, who played only white ball cricket at age group level, before being snapped at the auction this year, formed a deadly combination with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in KKR’s comprehensive win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“Suyash is no mystery spinner,” the KKR skipper clarified at the post-match media interaction. “He is a normal leg-spinner. But he has an x-factor because of his very high arm speed with an orthodox action, so it’s very difficult pick him.” Included as ‘Impact Player’ in place of Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash grabbed 3/30 as KKR spin trio grabbed nine wickets among them to shoot out RCB for 123 in 17.4 overs in their big chase of 205.

Playing in front of a capacity crowd of about 67,000, Suyash looked confident.

Sporting a head band to keep his flowing mane in check, Suyas has some uncanny resemblance with Indian Olympic gold medal winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. He has a quick run-up, as batters looked tentative against the youngsters.

“He’s also very quick through the air. You will be in trouble 100 per cent if there’s a little bit of doubt while batting against him. He will improve game by game,” Rana said.

RCB got off to a flier before KKR’s old warhorse Narine (2/16) gave first the breakthrough taking the prized-scalp of Virat Kohli before Chakravarthy (4/15) ripped through the middle order.

“I knew Suyash would do well but I wanted to bring in Sunil in the Powerplay and then Varun and both of them gave breakthroughs. It was very important to take wickets in the middle,” he said about his ploy to employ Suyash in the back-end.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Points Table updated after KKR vs RCB match: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore to climb to third spot

“Varun comeback was very important for us. He didn’t perform well last season, but he is bowling well this time,” he also hailed Chakravarthy.

‘Lord’ Shardul exceeded expectations. KKR were tottering at 89/5 in 11.3 overs after Afghanistan keeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz (57) and Andre Russell (0) got out in successive deliveries.

Then KKR No 7 Shardul played a counter-attacking 68 from 29 balls to turn it around for them.

“I was always confident of his batting ability as an impact player but his stroke-making exceeded my expectations. If your all-rounder bats in such way, and turns around the game single-handedly, what else does a captain want?” Rinku Singh played the second fiddle in the century-plus partnership with a handy cameo of 44 (33b).

Rana was seen talking to Rinku during the strategic break as he played a selfless knock and missed a half-century by four runs.

“His innings was very important. I’m pretty close to him so I was telling him to stay till 19-20th over. I knew he can hit sixes in any ball.” On Rinku playing second fiddle on most occasions, he said: “I don’t think he thinks a lot about it, what matters most for all us is to have that “W” attached to our side. Winning is most important.

“He’s a bindaas (carefree) person and keeps everything simple without complicating. Our first objective is to win every match.” Waited a long time to play at Eden’. This was KKR’s first match at home Eden Gardens in almost four years with previous seasons hit by COVID-19.

“We waited for a long time to play here. having played before COVID-19 here. I know how vociferous the crowd can be. I couldn’t have given a better gift to the fans than this win,” the skipper concluded.

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IPL 2023, KKR vs RCB: Royal Challengers Bangalore succumb to a 81-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) succumbed to a 81-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 9 of IPL 2023 at Eden Garden in Kolkata on Thursday.

It was a forgettable outing for RCB where they won nothing except for the toss. When the flip of the coin when RCB captain Faf du Plessis’ way, he followed the trend and asked  KKR to bat first.

Initially, it looked like du Plessis had made the right call as KKR were reduced to 47/3 in 6.1 overs. Left arm pacer David Willey, who replaced his injured countryman Reece Topley in RCB’s playing XI for the match, did the early damage as he picked the wickets of Venkatesh Iyer and Mandeep Singh in one over. Then for the second match running, KKR captain Nitish Rana lost his wicket to a spinner as he was dismissed by Michael Bracewell.

Early wickets did not dampen the spirits of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and KKR’s  wicketkeeper opening batsman from Afghanistan reached his maiden IPL fifty with a six against Karn Sharma in the 10th over of the innings. Two overs later Gurbaz became Sharma’s victim and walked back after scoring 57 from 44 balls hitting six fours and three sixes. A ball later KKR’s swashbuckling all-rounder Andre Russell departed on a first-ball duck.

Despite Gurbaz’s salvo, KKR’s score on the fall of Russell’s wicket read 89/5 and RCB looked in complete command of the proceedings.

Russell’s wicket brought together KKR’s new recruit Shardul Thakur and star from the last season Rinku Singh. And it is from this stage the tide started to turn in KKR’s favour.

In a display of stunning counterattacking batsmanship, Thakur punished RCB bowlers to complete his first T20 half-century in only 20 balls. With Thakur blasting the bowlers Singh adopted a more measured approach to his innings.

Thakur and Singh capitalized on poor bowling by even poorer tactical moves by du Plessis and completed 100-run partnership. Singh was eventually dismissed by Harshal Patel in the penultimate over of the KKR’s innings and the southpaw walked back after scoring 46 valuable runs in 33 deliveries.

Thakur was the last KKR wicket to fall as he attempted to play a big shot against Mohammed Siraj but got caught by Glenn Maxwell. But Thakur had done his job as he walked back to loud cheers from the KKR fans after scoring 68 in 29 balls hitting nine fours and three sixes.

Thanks to efforts by Thakur and Singh KKR recovered from a sorry looking 89/5 to end up with a strong total of 204/7 in 20 overs.

du Plessis and Virat Kohli kick-started RCB’s run chase in fine fashion as the two put a 44-run partnership in less than 5 overs.  There were sings that the two could repeat their performances put from three nights ago against KKR too.

Just when RCB fans started to believe tragedy struck as Kohli’s frailty against spin was exposed and he was clean bowled by Sunil Narine.  An over later du Plessis was clean bowled by Varun Chakaravarthy.

After RCB lost its openers, the rest of the batting collapsed with the spin trio of Narine, Chakaravarthy and debutant Suyash Sharma combining to pick nine of the 10 RCB wickets.

RCB were bundled out on just 123 when Chakaravarthy took a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Akash Deep.

Thus ended a match in which fortunes of the two teams swung like a wild pendulum.

Thakur was awarded the Player of the Match for his 68 runs with the bat and one wicket.

The win took KKR to the third place on the IPL 2023 points table behind Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals while RCB slipped to seventh place just ahead of Delhi Capitals.

What is next in store for KKR and RCB?

After rocking their home in east, KKR will now travel to west to be in Ahmedabad where they will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 9.

RCB will be heading home where they will be welcoming Lucknow Super Giants on April 10th.

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