If 200-plus runs are the new normal in this Indian Premier League, then West Indies' Sunil Narine should get plenty of credit for it too. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener's power hitter can dictate conditions on any bowling attack and on any surface, even in a slightly slow match at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday. there is.
Continuing to perform well with bat and ball, Narine first showed his batting prowess, hitting 81 (6×4, 7×6) in 39 balls, his third in his 50th year and also his 100th, taking KKR to 235/6. He pushed up and scored a point. /22 helped dash the hopes of Lucknow Super Giants who were hoping for some meaningful response as the hosts were dismissed for 137 in 16.1 overs.
The 98-run victory also saw two-time former champions KKR beat Rajasthan Royals and move to the top of the points table.
Narine spoke about Gautam Gambhir, who returned to lead KKR this season and was given a free hand as the chief executive officer. He was on a roll and was battering LSG bowlers all over the ground. As they have done several times this season, Narine and fellow opener Phil Salt put together a 61-run partnership in just 26 balls.
This IPL marked their 50th and sixth partnership. Afghanistan pacer Naveen Al Haq stopped Salt (32-14b, 5×4, 1×6) from staying within the powerplay range, but KL Rahul took an eye-catching diving catch to chase a wide delivery and Narine He stepped up and hit three sixes from Marcus Stoinis.
Narine, who celebrated his century against Rajasthan Royals before scoring 71 against Punjab Kings, completed his seventh IPL half-century in just 27 balls. After Salt's dismissal, he was joined by youngster Ankrish Raghuvanshi (32, 26) and together they added 79 runs as KKR raced to 110/1 at the halfway mark.
As the match progressed, Narine became more aggressive, especially in the last few overs. He almost caught him, but the fielder lost his balance and tripped over the rope, giving him six runs. He could have been caught again, this time in the short third, but Stoinis was unable to hold on completely as he dived and tried to reach over his head, still sending the ball flying into the boundary.
Narine's clean-hitting show ended when he was caught on the boundary of long-off on the last ball of the 12th over. The following KKR batting line also maintained their scoring momentum.
Andre Russell's 8-ball 12 (1×4, 1×6) and Rinku Singh's 16 (11b, 2×4) kept the scoreboard contested before skipper Shreyas Iyer (23-15b, 3×4) and Ramandeep Singh With the help of a one-four, he scored an unbeaten 23 off just six balls. And his three towering sixes helped the team cross his 200-point mark. In fact, Singh's innings was a treat to watch as he came at number 7 and achieved the death overs, leading KKR to the best first-run batsman in the venue.
After losing young opener Arshin Kulkarni in the second over, skipper Rahul and all-rounder Stoinis accelerated at full speed, adding 50 runs for the second wicket, but LSG never seemed to take control. I couldn't see it. Rahul fell for 25 (21b, 3×4) while Stoinis stroked a 21-ball 36, including four boundaries and two sixes. There was not much difference between the two as the team could only take 55/1 in the powerplay while KKR took 70/1 in the first six overs.
With both of them collapsing just short of the halfway mark, the rest of the LSG batsmen found it tough against a disciplined bowling attack, with Russell in particular using his bouncers to perfection to remove Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran (10). Harshit Rana (3/24) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/30) also bowled on tight lines and continued to strike to leave his LSG at his fifth.
“The most important thing is to get off to a good start,” Narine said during the presentation. “I have the support staff supporting me. It's working well for me and I hope it does well for the rest of the tournaments. It's about playing to my strengths and choosing what I do on the day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.”
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