MI VS KKR: ‘UNORTHODOX' NUWAN THUSHARA SHOWS HIS X-FACTOR, TERRORIZES KOLKATA
Nuwan Thushara came into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a reputation. Although a late bloomer, the Sri Lankan pacer has made the right noises, especially in the last month or so. Back in March, the Bangladesh batters got the taste of what Thushara was capable of. He picked up a hat-trick in Sylhet and finished with impressive figures of 4-1-20-5.
Hence, expectations when he stepped out for the first time in the IPL against RR at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. However, he didn't get off to a pleasant start after leaking 28 runs in 3 overs. Life got tougher for the pacer after he was taken apart by the DC batters.
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Against DC, Thushara gave away 56 runs and could not make a breakthrough. He got a wicket against LSG, but the pacer was yet to make a mark. Thushara eventually showed his class at the Wankhede Stadium when MI locked horns with KKR on Friday, May 3.
Nuwan Thushara rises to the occasion
Thushara bowled with fire after he was given the new ball by Hardik Pandya. He bowled brilliantly to the extent that KKR found themselves at 28 for 3 in 3 overs. Starting with, Thushara got rid of the dangerous Phil Salt, the leading run-scorer of the Knight Riders in the ongoing tournament. Salt tried to whack one through mid-wicket, but got a leading edge only for Tilak Varma to take a simple catch.
Thereafter, Thushara outfoxed the young Angkrish Raghuvanshi with a slower delivery. Raghuvanshi went for an attacking shot, but could not time the ball properly. Suryakumar Yadav took a simple catch. Thushara did not stop there and got rid of Shreyas Iyer, who became Thushara's third victim. Shreyas tried to play on the on-side, but mistimed the ball straight down the throat of Tim David.
Thushara eventually finished with figures of 4-0-42-3. Although he was a tad on the expensive side, it was on the back of his impressive spell that MI restricted KKR to a below-par score of 169 in 19.5 overs. After a tough start to his IPL career, Thushara made amends against the Knights, but it's just the beginning for the pacer, who now needs to show consistency.
2024-05-03T16:46:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd