IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana highlights spinner Suyash Sharma's X-factor

Former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Nitish Rana played down talks of young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma being a "mystery spinner" as he called him an ordinary leg-break bowler but with an 'x-factor'. The little-known Delhi U-25 spinner, who played only white-ball cricket at the 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 victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Suyash is no mystery spinner. 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 tough to pick him," the KKR skipper clarified at the post-match media interaction. Included as the 'Impact Player' in place of Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash grabbed 3/30 as the KKR spin trio grabbed nine wickets among them to shoot out RCB for 123 in 17.4 overs in their big chase of 205.

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Playing in front of a capacity crowd of about 67,000, Suyash looked confident. Sporting a headband to keep his flowing mane in check, Suyas resembles 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 swift through the air. You will be in trouble 100 per cent if there's a 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. Taking wickets in the middle was very important," he said about his ploy to employ Suyash in the back end. "Varun comeback was significant for us. He didn't perform well last season, but he is bowling well this time," he hailed Chakravarthy.

ALSO READ: IPL 2023: 'Very tough to pick him' - KKR head coach Pandit all-praise for Suyash's heroics against RCB

'Lord' Shardul exceeded expectations
Put in, 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 a way and turns around the game single-handedly, what else does a captain want?" he reckoned.

Rinku Singh played second fiddle in the century-plus partnership with a handy cameo of 44 (33 balls). 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 vital. I'm close to him, so I told him to stay till 19-20th. I knew he could hit sixes in any ball," asserted Rana.

ALSO READ: IPL 2023 - GURBAAZ, THAKUR, CHAKRAVARTHY, SUYASH RATTLE RCB AS KKR TRIUMPHS BY 81 RUNS; FANS THRILLED

On Rinku playing second fiddle on most occasions, he said: "I don't think he thinks a lot about it. What matters most for 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 it. Our first objective is to win every match."

'Waited a long time to play at Eden'
It was KKR's first match at home Eden Gardens in almost four years, with previous seasons hit by COVID-19. "We waited a long time to play here, having played before COVID-19. I know how loud the crowd can be. I couldn't have given a better gift to the fans than this win," Rana concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)