The Kolkata Knight Riders faced a devastating defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals in the 2023 Indian Premier League on Thursday night. After being restricted to 149/8 in Kolkata, the hosts faced a batting assault from Royals' young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (98* off 47 balls), who also struck the record for fastest half-century in the league's history. Consequently, the Royals registered a blistering nine-wicket win, chasing down the target in merely 13.1 overs.
However, a controversy erupted during the 13th over of the innings when Suyash Sharma wandered off his line off the final delivery of the over, when the Royals needed three runs to win. Yashasvi Jaiswal was at the non-striker's end – unbeaten on 94 – and many fans believed Suyash deliberately tried to bowl a wide to prevent a century from the Royals opener.
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Sanju Samson, the RR captain who faced the delivery, adjusted to the line in time to successfully play a block shot; however, he wasn't too pleased with Suyash, and also gestured Jaiswal to hit a six.
Following the incident, Suyash faced criticism from many fans on social media and former India opener Aakash Chopra drew a rather interesting analogy on the same. “Imagine a Pakistan bowler doing that to prevent Kohli from getting to his century. The same people who are giving gyan on how it’s absolutely okay…and that it wasn’t deliberate…will ensure that that bowler starts trending in minutes. Trolling level hi alag hota tab (the trolling would've reached a different level). Typical Twitter behaviour IMO,” Aakash wrote on his Twitter account.
{{/usCountry}}Following the incident, Suyash faced criticism from many fans on social media and former India opener Aakash Chopra drew a rather interesting analogy on the same. “Imagine a Pakistan bowler doing that to prevent Kohli from getting to his century. The same people who are giving gyan on how it’s absolutely okay…and that it wasn’t deliberate…will ensure that that bowler starts trending in minutes. Trolling level hi alag hota tab (the trolling would've reached a different level). Typical Twitter behaviour IMO,” Aakash wrote on his Twitter account.
{{/usCountry}}The win with 41 balls to spare also took RR to third spot (12 points from 12 matches), giving a massive boost to their net run-rate (0.0633) as the play-off race heats up.
It is all but over for KKR who slipped to seventh place (10 points, 12 matches).