Sunil Narine hasn’t put a foot wrong in the ongoing IPL season. On Sunday, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, his Midas touch powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the top of the standings following a thumping 98-run win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Narine laid the foundation for KKR’s win with a blistering 39-ball 81 in the first innings, before returning figures of 1/22 in his four overs to shut LSG down.
The loss to KKR, combined with Chennai Super Kings’ win over Punjab Kings earlier in the day, pushed LSG to fifth on the points table, with its hopes for a third consecutive playoff spot in danger of slipping away.
It all started on Sunday with Narine putting on a quickfire 61-run opening stand with Phil Salt after KL Rahul elected to field. Narine started sedately as Salt peppered LSG’s new-ball bowlers with a flurry of boundaries from the other end.
Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders celebrates after scoring a half-century. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA/The Hindu
But soon enough the left-handed batter opened up, matching Salt shot for shot. The Tobagonian thumped left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan for three fours and a six in the fourth over of the game to assert himself.
The KKR opening duo raced to their sixth fifty-run partnership before Salt was caught behind off a slower one from Naveen-ul-Haq, much to the relief of a packed Ekana Stadium.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi too joined in on the fun, with the KKR No.3 crunching some crisp drives on the off side.
Only Yash Thakur managed to get in a boundary-less over in the PowerPlay as KKR piled on 70 runs in the first six overs.
The end of fielding restrictions did nothing to deter Narine as he soon started to take on the spinners. When Krunal Pandya pitched it up, the ball was launched over mid-wicket for an 86-metre six. Narine got to his fifty with a delicate late-cut four against leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
The 35-year-old was brutal when LSG pacers went full as he cleared his front foot before launching them over the fence on the leg side. Marcus Stoinis was at the receiving end of three such maximums as the West Indian pressed on.
Narine’s whirlwind knock ended on 81 after he mistimed a quicker one from Bishnoi straight to a relieved Devdutt Padikkal at long-off. Padikkal, a few deliveries earlier, had stepped over the boundary rope with the ball in his hand.
IPL Points Table updated after LSG vs KKR
Narine’s dismissal revitalised LSG as the home bowlers, aided by some good fielding, reigned in the opponent’s run rate.
But, a six-ball 25 from Ramandeep Singh ensured KKR finished on a high as it breached the 220-run mark for the fifth time this season.
LSG’s riposte was measured, if not hurried, to start with. But KKR’s bowlers held their ground as they nudged their side into control of the game with a regular flow of wickets.
While skipper KL Rahul was sent back by right-arm pacer Harshit Rana, in-form Aussie batter Marcus Stoinis was caught off a rising delivery from Andre Russell.
Harshit Rana with his Kolkata Knight Riders teammates after dismissing KL Rahul, skipper of Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA/The Hindu
Russell would use the extra bounce he found on the Ekana surface again as he bumped out his international teammate Nicholas Pooran to effectively seal the contest for his side.
Narine’s spin partner Varun Chakravarthy employed his variations with great effect, ending the day with three wickets as KKR ran through LSG’s batting lineup and completed the season double over Rahul’s men.
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