Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured an emphatic victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Chepauk Stadium today, winning by eight wickets with 59 balls to spare. Sunil Narine was the star of the day for KKR and adjudged the Player of the Match.
Narine came on to bowl in the ninth over of the match, and his impact was visible from his second over when he dismissed Rahul Tripathi. In his third over, Jadeja—an important figure in CSK’s batting lineup—tried to poke at a delivery outside the off-stump and was caught by Quinton de Kock. In his fourth over, Narine claimed the wicket of MS Dhoni, whom he has troubled for years. Dhoni missed the ball and was adjudged LBW.
“Try to focus on my strength.” – Sunil Narine
When it came to batting, Narine opened the innings alongside de Kock, and they put on a 46-run partnership for the first wicket in just 25 balls before de Kock was dismissed. Narine continued to attack, and with captain Ajinkya Rahane, he shared a 39-run partnership off just 18 balls, which all but sealed the match for KKR. Narine was the top scorer for KKR with 44 runs from just 18 balls, at a strike rate of 244.44. His explosive innings included two fours and five sixes.
During the post-match presentation, Narine said: “Almost [a complete game], next time hope I can take a catch as well. Try to focus on my strength. Batters play well but if you focus too much on batters, you are already on the back foot. You get accustomed and try to adapt as soon as possible. You see what happens in the powerplay and try and help the team. It’s very simple – trying to get the team off to a flying start. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”