The young brigade of Kolkata Knight Riders starred for the side in its victory against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, steering KKR into the top-4 in points table. Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti shined for the Knight Riders in their win.
While Gill, who had earlier scored an unbeaten 70 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, put on an important 47 in the first innings, Mavi and Nagarkoti returned with two wickets each, with former returning as Man of the Match.
KKR captain Dinesh Karthik was visibly delighted with the performance of the young guns.
"It's a very special thing - these boys, the journey they've gone through when not playing, and for them to just come out and express themselves with the ball and ball was incredible," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.
While Nagarkoti recorded figures of 2/13 in the two overs he bowled, Mavi returned 2/20 in four overs and was declared player of the match. The two were crucial in ensuring that RR were restricted to a meagre 137/9. Gill was the top scorer for KKR with 47 off 34 as they scored 174/6.
"It was a good game. A lot of things pleased me -- the way Gill started, the way Russell started, the way Morgan kept his head. The beautiful sight of the youngsters going for the catch no matter high it is," said Karthik.
Mavi said that he stuck to normal lines and lengths in the beginning as the ball was seaming around. "It was a little different after seeing the wicket, thought it would be flat. But it was seaming around so I kept it tight. I've played against some of these big players before so I knew what they would do, so I made sure I just stuck to the lines and lengths," he said.
