No Suyash Sharma This Time, KKR Announce 'This' All-Rounder as Impact Player Against SRH
.jpg)
Anukul Roy celebrating a dismissal [Source: AP]
Kolkata Knight Riders shocked fans and experts, as they introduced promising all-rounder Anukul Roy to their squad as the impact player during the ongoing group-stage face-off against SRH. Anukul, who has mostly been benched in the tournament, replaced Jason Roy, who recorded a failure with the bat earlier in the day.
Suyash Sharma has been the go-to man for the Knight Riders in the tournament, emerging as their wrecker-in-chief with the ball in the middle overs. Overall, he has scalped nine wickets in seven matches at an impressive strike rate of 18.67.
However, as they lost their seventh wicket in the 18th over, the two-time champions opted to send Anukul to bat and ensure a fitting finish for them. The former Indian u-19 cricketer lived up to the expectations, powering his side to a defendable 171-run total through a crucial cameo of 13 runs, including two boundaries.
Furthermore, considering how the wicket has assisted spinners so far, he could be lethal with his useful left-arm off spin bowling in the second half.
After opting to bat first, KKR had a poor start to their innings, losing their top order in quick succession. However, vital contributions from Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana and Andre Russell helped them breach the 170-run mark at the end of 20 overs.
 "Debashis Sarangi")