Sunil Narine produced a stunning display of batting to smash a half-century in just 21 deliveries for Kolkata Knight Riders during their IPL 2024 match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. The all-rounder, who was again sent to open the batting with Phil Salt, looked sublime as he completely dismantled the DC bowling attack. Narine’s best over came against Ishant Sharma where he ended up scoring 26 runs with a barrage of boundaries as KKR scored 88 runs in the powerplay. He eventually scored 85 in just 39 deliveries with the help of 7 boundaries and 7 sixes. Social media continued to praise him and also praised KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir for promoting Narine.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat.
Sunil Narine is at it again@KKRiders kick off in Vizag!
Go to @JioCinema And @StarSportsIndia to watch the match LIVE#TATAIPL | #DCvKKR pic.twitter.com/UipTFUHznQ
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 3, 2024
DC and KKR will face off in the 16th encounter of the IPL 2024. The Kolkata-based franchise is currently second in the points table with four points from two matches. Capitals are seventh with only two points from three games.
Hats off to Gautam Gambhir for making Sunil Narine an opener#DCvKKR #KKRvDC
pic.twitter.com/2S30FMrrKc— Richard Kettleborough (@RichKettle07) April 3, 2024
Both teams come into the match having won their last matches against their opponents. DC defeated five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 20 runs on March 31 and Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by seven wickets on March 29.
Making Sunil Narine the opener is one of the biggest decisions in IPL history.
Hats off to Gautam Gambhir for this magical decision. pic.twitter.com/Ky9U25Kd0n
– Vishal. (@SPORTIEVISHAL) April 3, 2024
“We’re going to bat first. The wicket looks like a belter, no drastic change in the wicket compared to the last game. It’s been quite a journey… Anything can happen on a given day, it’s important to to stick to the process “We have Sunil (Narine) who comes in and goes after the bowlers in the first six overs, so his role is very clear and the rest know what is expected of them. One change: Angrish Raghuvanshi coming in,” Iyer said after winning the match toss.
Sunil Narine under Gautam Gambhir pic.twitter.com/YzwTD0axlR
— Nisha (@NishaRo45_) April 3, 2024
DC skipper Rishabh Pant claimed that they would have batted as well as the wicket could get slower.
“We would have batted first too, we could have slowed down a bit. It was nice to be back in the group, but I’m not thinking too far ahead. The bowlers have done a great job, the fast bowlers, and we would have wants them to do it again. I’m not thinking about the team combination from the first two games, but we’ve had people working hard in the nets. We just have to keep doing the right things – one change: Mukesh is injured and he has been replaced by Sumit,” Pant stated at the time of the toss.
(With ANI inputs)
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