‘3D Vijay Shankar is back’: GT star’s heroics vs KKR brings back memories of 2019 World Cup Cricket
Vijay Shankar goes all out as defending champion Gujarat Titans beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets The IPL 2023 clash took place at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Batting at a strike rate of over 200, Shankar scored an unbeaten 51 off 24 balls, which included two fours and five sixes.
He added 87 runs for the fourth wicket with David Miller as Gujarat chased down 180 with 13 balls to spare. Miller played a strong innings as usual and returned unbeaten after scoring 32 runs in 18 balls.
Shankar’s heroics on the field triggered a meme fest on social media as several parallels emerged between his controversial selection in the 2019 World Cup squad with the showpiece event approaching and India battling injuries.
Shankar’s inclusion in the team at number four in place of Ambati Rayudu was heavily debated, which forced the latter to consider his future with Team India. Shankar was coined as a ‘3-D’ player by then chief selector MSK Prasad, highlighting his potential in all departments of the game.
With the 2023 World Cup round the corner, India are once again fighting for the fourth spot due to back injuries to Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, who are slowly recovering from an unfortunate road accident on New Year’s Eve. .
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Shankar made a similar impact in the last encounter between the two sides, in which Rinku Singh grabbed all the limelight. He then scored an unbeaten 63 off 24 balls, which included four fours and five sixes. Despite his stellar performance with the bat and Rashid Khan’s hat-trick, Kolkata chased down 205, with Rinku hitting five sixes in the last five balls of the run chase.
