- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HE has been one of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) all-weather warriors. And in a crunch game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Sunil Narine proved again that he is a key resource for his captain.
The spinner-all-rounder on Tuesday (28) came out to bat against a formidable Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with his team placed at 96 for 5 in pursuit of a moderate target of 128. The game was getting tight but the veteran West Indian did not lose his nerve. He picked two sixes and a four off pacer Kagiso Rabada in the 16th over to change the complexion of the game and in the end, KKR won by three wickets to brighten up their chances of making the playoffs.
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Besides scoring a timely 10-ball 21, Narine also picked two wickets for his team for 18 runs in four overs that contributed to KKR’s impressive effort in restricting an explosive DC batting line-up to 127 for 9 in 20 overs. Earlier, KKR captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and sent DC, the second placed team in the tournament, to bat first.
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Narine, who was the automatic choice for the man of the match award, later said, “Watching a few games here, knew there’s a bit of spin here. Didn’t want to get too full. I’ve been through a lot. Need to give credit to bowling coach, that’s a plus and that’s been key for me to come back. Batting in the middle-order is challenging. It’s pleasing to see hardwork paying off after a long time. I think we are playing some good cricket. A few niggles, but that said we are playing good cricket.”
Narine, who has also opened for the Knights in the past, fell in the 17th over after playing his crucial cameo but Nitish Rana remained not out on 36 off 27 balls to guide the two-time champions home.
KKR were in fourth place in the points table after the win with a tally of 10 in 11 games. Chennai Super Kings and DC have 16 points in 10 and 11 games, respectively, while Royal Challenges Bangalore were at 12 points from 10 games.
KKR have won three of their four games in the tournament after it resumed after a gap of over five months due to Covid.
