KKR vs DC: Shardul Thakur grabs a stunner to end Ajinkya Rahane's stint in quick sequence

Delhi Capitals got back to winning ways while they faced the Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 19 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on April 10.  Exceptional batting performances from openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner along with handy contributions from the middle-order duo of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur propelled DC to a mammoth 215/5.

Speaking of Shardul Thakur, while the bowling all-rounder added finishing touches to Delhi’s innings, he also made his presence felt in the second innings where he went on to take a spectacular catch to dismiss KKR opener Ajinkya Rahane for eight runs just when he was looking to cut loose. The crucial catch also proved to be a much-needed breakthrough for the Capitals.

Shardul Thakur takes a superb catch to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane

Shardul thakur running catch 😱🔥🔥 #KKRvDC #IPL #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/sD4rxvRKdD

— 🄰🄼🄸🅃 🄺🅄🄼🄰🅁 (@AmitKum50993580) April 10, 2022

This happened during the fifth over of the KKR run chase that was bowled by Khaleel Ahmed. On the fourth ball, the left-arm pacer bowled a length ball as Rahane heaved it aggressively towards the leg side with the intention of clearing the fence. However, the senior batter failed to middle the ball and instead got a top edge as the ball went long way up in the air.

Thakur showed great presence of mind by covering a lot of distance with his eyes glued to the direction of the ball. He got his judgment right and took an absolute blinder despite having fumbled the ball on the first occasion.

Earlier in the innings, the Mumbai cricketer had added an unbeaten 49-run stand with bowling all-rounder Axar Patel for the sixth wicket. He scored a blistering 29 runs from just 11 deliveries while Patel contributed with a 14-ball 22. Prithvi Shaw and David Warner had laid a solid foundation for the Delhi Capitals with a 93-run opening stand. Shaw scored 51 runs from 29 balls while Warner went on to score a quickfire 61 runs from 45 deliveries. In the end, DC won the game by a huge margin of 44 runs.