S hardul Thakur's impressive innings of 68 runs off just 29 balls, combined with exceptional performances from spinners Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, and Sunil Narine, helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secure their first points of IPL 2023 with a resounding 81-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Despite a shaky start with the bat, including a first-ball duck for Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz's crucial knock of 57 off 44 balls provided some stability for KKR. However, it was Shardul Thakur's aggressive batting display that turned the tables on RCB's bowlers. He smashed boundaries and sixes, hitting a joint-quickest half-century of the season in just 20 balls. Rinku Singh also played a supporting role, contributing 46 runs off 33 balls as he and Shardul added 103 runs for the sixth wicket. KKR's total of 204/7 was a challenging target for RCB. In response, RCB started well with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plesis smashing 42 runs off the first fou