“He showed fighting attitude”: KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit hails Suyash Sharma

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 7 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach Chandrakant Pandit was pleased with debutant spinner Suyash Sharma’s “fighting attitude”, saying he is very quick in the air and it was very tough to pick him.

A superb performance by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinners, led by Varun Chakravarthy and debutant Suyash Sharma helped the home side clinch an 81-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.

Suyash had a significant effect in his first IPL game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking the crucial wickets of tail-ender Karn Sharma, hard-hitter Dinesh Karthik, and Anuj Rawat.

“We have seen him (Suyash) at trial matches. He is very quick in the air, and it’s very tough to pick him. It’s just the inexperience, but he showed a fighting attitude,” Pandit said after the match.

KKR coach praised the batters for showing guts to rally and produce a total of more than 200 runs after being down and out at 89/5, with Shardul Thakur hitting a 29-ball 68.

“It’s a good win. The boys have shown the character. Looking at the initial stage, having lost wickets, and coming back to get 200-plus. We just expected the pitch to help the spinners. But you require enough runs. Shardul and Rinku Singh (46 off 33) counter-attacked the opposition,” Pandit added.

Coming to the match, Royal Challengers Bangalore had a decent start to the chase as Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis quickly settled in to lay the groundwork for the enormous chase that lay ahead of them. The duo smacked Tim Southee for 23 runs in the fourth over, including two fours and two sixes.

Just when RCB looked to pick up the pace even further, Sunil Narine started his 150th IPL game in style, hitting Virat’s off stump to remove him for 21 off 18 balls. RCB was 44/1 in 4.5 overs.

This wicket started the visitors’ downfall. Varun Chakravarty also joined Narine in the spin party, dismissing Faf for 23 off 12 balls. RCB was 46/2 in 5.2 overs.

Chakravarty destroyed RCB’s middle order, sending back Harshal Patel, promoted up the order for a duck and Glenn Maxwell for five off seven balls. Narine sent RCB into a state of alarm by cleaning up Shahbaz Ahmed for just one. Half of the RCB line-up was in the hut for 61/5.

Michael Bracewell and Dinesh Karthik tried to bring RCB back into the match by stabilising the innings, but Shardul Thakur added to his batting heroics by dismissing the Kiwi all-rounder for 19 off 18 balls. RCB was reduced to 83/6.

Spinner Suyash Sharma, making his IPL debut made an impact in his second over, dismissing impact player Anuj Rawat, who replaced Mohammed Siraj for one and Dinesh Karthik for nine, sinking RCB to 86/8 in 12.5 overs.

Karn Sharma (1) became Suyash’s third wicket. RCB was 96/9 in 14.3 overs. Varun’s last wicket was Akash Deep, who was dismissed for 17. RCB was bundled out for 123 in 17.4 overs and lost by 81 runs.

After registering their first victory in the IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against the defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.