Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finished in the 7th position after the league stage in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The Knight Riders punched above their weight and performed beyond expectations.
With their skipper Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of IPL 2023 because of a back injury, things looked bleak for KKR. Nitish Rana was appointed the skipper of KKR and he did a fairly good job.
In the middle, KKR lost 4 matches on the trot and that is where they lost all their momentum. A few injuries to players in the middle of the season and the Bangladeshi duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das not staying for the IPL didn’t help their cause either.
Rinku Singh: The sole performer for KKR!
One of the main reasons why KKR could register 6 wins in IPL 2023 was the brilliance of middle-order batter Rinku Singh. It was a coming-of-the-age performance for the youngster and he showed everyone that he can pack a punch.
Singh finished as KKR’s highest run-getter, scoring 474 runs at a stellar average of 59.25. He single-handedly won several games for KKR. Rinku Singh’s 5 sixes in the final over to win the game for KKR against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the beginning of the tournament is considered as one of the greatest finishes in the history of the IPL.
Nitish Rana excelled as a captain
Barring a few bad decisions, Nitish Rana did a good job as the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders in this season. The best thing about Rana was the fact that he kept picking the brains of several other players of KKR during his tenure.
He did well with the bat too and scored 413 runs in the season. Rana didn’t let captaincy affect his batsmanship.
Suyash Sharma hogged the limelight with his superb bowling
The 20-year-old young leg-break bowler Suyash Sharma grabbed the limelight with his stupendous bowling performances. Suyash Sharma was used as an impact substitute and well justified the tag. In 11 IPL 2023 matches, Sharma did well and bagged 10 wickets.
Varun Chakravarthy was another big positive for KKR
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy had a forgettable outing in IPL 2022 as he managed to pick up only 6 wickets in 11 games. But he staged a fabulous comeback in IPL 2023 and finished as the leading wicket-taker of the 2-time IPL champions.
Chakravarthy bagged 20 wickets in 14 games and was extremely economical with the white-cherry.
Also read: IPL 2023: Decoding 5 Reasons Why RCB Couldn’t Qualify For The Playoffs
