Sunil Narine scored a breathtaking century to take his team to a challenging total.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: A scintillating hundred by opener Sunil Narine powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a formidable 223 for six against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match here on Tuesday.
After his team was asked to bat first on a fresh pitch, Narine blazed away to a 49-ball 100 to lead KKR's charge in this top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens.
Trent Bolt eventually got the better of Narne, but not before the opener amassed 109 off 56 balls with the help of 13 fours and six sixes, displaying supreme confidence and skill against one of the best attacks of the IPL.
It was a one-man show from KKR as Narine batted till the 18th over, first stitching 85 runs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30) and then adding 51 runs with Andre Russell (13).
Not only did he pierce the field with ease, he also unleashed a relentless attack on R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, keeping the fielders busy by playing shots in the V.
Having reached fifty in 29 balls, the Trinidadian took just 20 deliveries to get to his maiden T20 century, pulling Chahal to the midwicket boundary.
Clad in a crisp white T-shirt, team owner Shah Rukh Khan sent a flying kiss from the stands.
On the field, his West Indies teammate Russell jumped in joy, giving him a bear hug as Narine waved his bat in a muted celebration.
Finally, it took a Boult special to end Narine's innings as the Kiwi left-arm pacer nailed a perfect yorker that also broke the leg stump, causing some delay in the middle.
With Narine taking the centre stage, the Royals spinners had a poor day. Ashwin gave away four wides and conceded 49 runs from his four overs, while Chahal returned with figures of 1/54 from his full quota.
Later, Rinku Singh's nine-ball 20 not out with two sixes and one four took the total past 200-mark, as KKR scored 62 runs in the last five overs.
Avesh Khan (2/35) and Boult (1/31) were the pick of the Royals bowlers. Kuldeep Sen (2/46) also picked two.
Riyan Parag dropped a sitter from in-form English opener Phil Salt in the second ball of the match.
The drop did not cost the Royals much as Salt, who scored a match-winning unbeaten 89 against Lucknow Super Giants, got out for 10 thanks to Avesh Khan's one-handed return catch.
But sloppy fielding at the onset looked to have its impact as Narine and the young Raghuvanshi seized the momentum in the power play.
Raghuvanshi's exquisite timing was on full display when he slammed Boult for three boundaries in the fifth over.
Narine took charge against Sen with a monstrous six over deep midwicket and followed that up with a boundary in a 16-run over, as KKR made 56 for 1 in the power play.
Narine soon shifted to top gear, smashing Chahal over long-off and in the next over produced an even bigger hit in the same region to race to his half-century in 29 balls.
The duo took KKR to 100/1 at the halfway mark before Raghuvanshi threw his wicket away, mistiming an upper cut. But Narine continued the onslaught to prop up KKR in the back 10.