Cricket Editorial Indian Football IPL IPL 2025

Sunil Narine, KKR’s all-time MVP, revives campaign with one and a half overs of magic

April 30, 2025
<a href="https://revsportz.in/author/boria/" rel="author" class="url fn n" itemprop="url"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=32&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=64&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' decoding='async'/> <span class="" itemprop="name">Boria Majumdar</span></a>
Sunil Narine turned the tide for the Knights (Image: KKR)

It was 136-3, and Axar Patel was just blazing away. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were playing their most important game of the IPL, for a loss would mean elimination became a near-certainty. The stakes were at their highest. Both Faf du Plessis and Axar were settled, and Delhi Capitals (DC) seemed in cruise control. Sunil Narine, wicketless in two games, had yet again started badly. He had gone for 20 off 2 and the talisman looked bereft of ideas.

To add to it, the first ball of his third over was dismissed by Axar for a six. That’s when Narine went round the wicket and bowled a short one which bounced a tad more than Axar had bargained for. He was kind of off-balance, and hit it to Harshit Rana who somehow held on. KKR had their man, and Narine had made a comeback against all odds.

The next over and a half saw the old Narine. Beating Tristan Stubbs, the man in form, all ends up, and that was when KKR started to believe. Thereafter, his final over was a beauty, with another big scalp, this time du Plessis. Narine, KKR’s most valuable player ever, had yet one more time done the job for his team.

Three different things happened within seconds of the Stubbs wicket. Conch shells pierced the still air around my house, and it was as if the pujas had started. Second, one could hear a few crackers in the distance and, finally, one could see a few young cricket fans just step out for a midnight adda. KKR, well and truly, had a lifeline.

 

The 2025 campaign, may I say, has many life lessons to it. First, it is a lesson in how it’s never say never in sport. Till the rains lashed Kolkata on Sunday, KKR’s campaign was all doom and gloom. Each match was an ordeal, and even the greatest KKR supporter was losing hope. The team would just turn up and lose. There was no fight and no passion. It was a campaign that was going nowhere.

But the rain, all of a sudden, gave KKR a point and the campaign a new lease of life. Last night, they looked a different team with a very different mindset. Things do get better after all. The batting approach was refreshing and even when wickets fell, the intent was never lost. There will always be what ifs. Counter points. Possibilities that we will debate. If Ajinkya Rahane had opened, would it have been the perfect start? Could the middle order then come into its own earlier?

The journey isn’t over yet for KKR. We now know that things do change, and that’s the only constant. KKR have two home games, and despite Vaibhav Suryavanshi scripting a miracle for RR in the last game, beating Rajasthan and Chennai looks very possible on home turf.

As KKR go into the final two weeks of action, we must remember that they are still in the hunt. They stayed in the moment and fought hard last night. Yes, the battle isn’t won yet, but then, the fans have seen Sunil Narine do very Sunil Narine things. Varun Chakravarthy too picked up a couple and it was a collective effort. All that the fans now need is for this effort to continue all of next week. Two home wins, and the door would be wide open for the defending champions.