Kolkata Knight Riders are on a roll as they are unbeaten in the IPL 2024 season with two wins from their two games played so far and one man has caught the limelight for their tremendous form, Gautam Gambhir.
Former skipper who won two IPL trophies with franchise is back where it all began for him and he has made some changes in the lineup. Sunil Narine now opens the batting for KKR alongside Philip Salt and so far it has worked wonders for the 2-time champions.
Recently in their clash against the Delhi Capitals, Narine went all guns blazing after the opposition bowlers handing KKR a dream start to their game. He smashed 85 off 39 balls with 7 fours and 7 sixes as an opener which got KKR more than 160 runs on the board before the 12th over.
The ‘City of Destiny’ witnessed two hours of carnage, 2 hours of ruthless ball-striking and 120 minutes of torture for the Delhi Capitals (DC) bowlers as Narine (85), Raghuvanshi (54), Russell (41) and Rinku Singh’s brutal-bashing helped KKR come within touching distance of surpassing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) score of 277 however Kolkata ended up with the second-highest total in the IPL ever.
Sunil Narine’s carnage, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Andre Russell’s onslaught left Delhi Capitals (DC) bowlers dumbstruck at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium and helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) post 272/7 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Wednesday.
Sunil Narine, the Player of the Match, for his highest T20 score (85 in 39) and a wicket: “(Happier with batting or bowling?) Cricket is all about batting so looking to contribute more as a batter. That said, I still enjoy by bowling. (On the team joke that he does not attend batting meetings) I have one role and the less I know the better it is for me. (Batting lower down in Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) We had sufficient batters there so I wasn’t needed. At the end of the day it is what the team needs. If they need me to bat, i will bat. (Plan with Salt) He is aggressive and gets the scoring going so all the pressure isn’t on me. (As well as you’ve bowled?) On a wicket like that we wanted to win by a bigger margin so it helps later on in the tournament.”
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, KKR got off to a rollicking start with a fiery partnership between Philip Salt and Sunil Narine. Having not grabbed a single run in the first over delivered by Khaleel Ahmed, Salt hammered Ishant Sharma for back-to-back two boundaries.
Both the KKR openers finally saw through Khaleel Ahmed’s trend of keeping his deliveries furthest away from the wicket. Narine ran an onslaught during Ishant’s second over and punished the DC bowler immensely as he bagged 26 runs in the over.
Dropped on one and caught on second, Salt’s innings came to an end after he got dismissed by Anrich Nortje, following a phenomenal backward-running catch from Tristan Stubbs. (‘Helmet Pe Marne Vala Bowler:’ How Mayank Yadav Was Described In Delhi Circuit)
DC bowlers continued to miss the mark against Narine and the opener completed his second fifty of IPL 2024 within just 21 balls. However, Nortje provided DC with a massive breakthrough, removing Salt for 18, but it was Narine who got everyone’s attention with an explosive fifty.
Narine with his batting fireworks that witnessed the side complete their 100-run mark within just 7.3 overs into the game, alongside Raghuvanshi looked destructive at the crease. Mitchell Marsh came into the attack to stop the onslaught by KKR, as Narine and Raghuvanshi opted for a more controlled approach to see through the over.
The 18-year-old Raghuvanshi just cannot stop impressing the cricket fraternity, as he added up to his impressive performance in the match with a sensational reverse six. The youngster then slammed his maiden IPL half-century with Narine in a destructive mood on the other. The duo completed their 100-run partnership with significant ease.
A phenomenal Narine innings came to an end, much to the ultimate relief of the DC bowling unit until Marsh got the big wicket. Narine went back to the pavilion after scoring 85 off just 39 balls. Nortje sent Raghuvanshi packing. (IPL 2024: Andre Rusell’s Wife Jassym Lora To Sunil Narine’s Partner Anjellia; Meet Top WAGs Of KKR Players – In Pics)
Raghuvanshi rocked up on debut and delivered a stunning performance of 54 off 27 however his fine knock came to an end as he was sent packing by Nortje in the 13.2 over.
Just 15 overs into the match, KKR crossed the 200 mark. In the second-last over of the game, Rinku Singh smoked Nortje for three maximums and one four before losing his wicket to a miss-timed shot.
A terrific yorker from Ishant dismissed Russell, rattling off the wickets with a fiery pace. In the same over removed Ramandeep Singh Putting a stop to KKR’s dominant performance restricting KKR to 272/7