The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) promoted bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur to No. 3 in their batting lineup in their IPL 2023 clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, April 29.

The experiment backfired, as Thakur's stay at the crease was a brief one. The right-handed batter was dismissed without troubling the scorers, registering a four-ball duck.

Thakur perished in the fifth over of KKR's innings. He attempted to play a lofted shot down the ground off Mohammed Shami's bowling. However, he failed to get the desired connection. Mohit Sharma completed a fantastic diving catch at mid-on to send Thakur packing.

Many fans took to social media after the dismissal, trolling the KKR team management to send Thakur at No.3.

Shardul thakur ko kya soch ke upar bhej diya tha.. Unnecessary experiment#GTvsKKR

@mufaddal_vohra Drunk Management

@KKRiders why are sending players like Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur to bat so early in the match when the situation don't demand it. I know the fact that they can bat but to get few extra runs which we aren't getting from them this isn't the right strategy.

KKR fans after shardul Thakur dismissal#KKRvGT #KKRvsGT https://t.co/n1iSPtxFQj

Poor cricket this from #KKR to send shardul thakur up the order..his wicket puts pressure on other batters..he will be valuable in the lower order and he will be missed #KKRvGT #TATAIPL #TATAIPL2023

Shardul Thakur can bat 1/50 matches.... wrong decision to send him this early https://t.co/t0cZQAbpIE

Lagta hai Shardul Thakur ko pinch hitter bana ke uske career ki watt lagani hai 🤣#KKRvsGT

And now Shardul Thakur will do 1st down. Madness! Absolute Madness. Don't they do net practice? Can't coaches see their weaknesses? twitter.com/Anishkumarsaho…

Shardul Thakur came out for a walk. 😂 #KKRvGT

@SushantNMehta They has so many hitter batsman why they need Shardul ahead don't know... They could have tried Russell he needed some good games

Shardul Thakur batting at number three when you have Venkatesh, Rinku, Rana & Russell. #KKRvGT

Shardul Thakur at no. 3!I have seen everything now in cricket!🤯#KKRvGT

@KRxtra Shardul thakur is as good a batsman as Harbhajan Singh. Would you promote Harbhajan to 3?

@KKRiders Dafuq was even the point of sending Shardul Thakur at 3??? Team management needs the sack. Too many stupid decisions starting from the auction, team selection, batting order.

Notably, Thakur shone with the bat for Kolkata during their second match of the season. With his 68-run knock off just 29 balls, he was instrumental in his team's 81-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Rahmanullah Gurbaz proves his worth with a fine half-century in KKR vs GT encounter

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played some quick-fire knocks for Kolkata in the first half of the tournament. However, he later lost his place in the side with Jason Roy coming in as their overseas opener.

With Roy ruled out of the contest against Gujarat due to a back spasm, Gurbaz made the most of his chance and delivered an impressive performance with the bat.

While KKR lost the likes of Narayan Jagadeesan and Shardul Thakur early on, the Afghan batter seemed unfazed and continued to play attacking shots. He completed his half-century in just 27 balls, giving his team an ideal platform to build on.

Gurbaz gets a quick fifty for KKR 🔥📸: IPL/JioCinema#IPL2023 #KKRvsGT #cricket https://t.co/u1pR6hienr

At the time of writing, Gurbaz is still at the crease. Nitish Rana and Co. will want to come up with an imposing score upfront after being asked to bat first.

The second half of IPL 2023 is of utmost importance for Kolkata, given that they are currently languishing in seventh place in the points table, having managed just three wins from eight games.

Get IPL 2023 Live Score along with Points Table & Schedule Updates at Sportskeeda.

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