Narine takes KKR closer to playoffs
Lynny (Chris Lynn) just said, keep your eyes on the ball, maintain your focus and swing through the line. I try to keep it simple and back my ability.
BENGALURU: Sunil Narine smashed the joint fastest IPL fifty in his sensational knock of 54 as Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed a hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to almost seal a playoffs berth here on Sunday.
Narine (54 from 17 balls) reached his fifty in just 15 balls, the same number of deliveries his KKR team-mate Yusuf Pathan had consumed in 2014 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, as he played some stunning shots much to the disappointment of the home crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The West Indian and his opening partner Chris Lynn (50 from 22 balls) put on 105 runs from just 6.1 overs in a show of batting pyrotechnics as KKR chased down the target of 159 in a jiffy. They romped home with 4.5 overs to spare.
Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-39-1), Sreenath Aravind (1-0-26-0) and Samuel Badree (3-0-40-0) bore the brunt of the fury from Narine and Lynn. The KKR batting duo also notched up the record of the highest powerplay total in the IPL as the visiting side were 105 for no loss at the end of six overs.
The win, their eighth of the season, sealed KKR a playoffs berth with 16 points from 12 matches. Already out of reckoning, RCB, on the other hand, slumped to their 10th defeat in 13 matches to remain at the bottom of league table with mere five points.
It was Lynn who began the carnage as he hit Aniket Choudhary for two fours and a six in the first over. He continued in the same vein by smashing another six and two fours in the third over bowled by Chahal.
Narine took over after that. The first two deliveries Narine faced were dot balls but he sent the home crowd to a stunning silence in the fourth over by hitting three successive sixes and a four to cream off 25 runs from Badree.
The next over was even more stunning and the hapless bowler was Aravind as a ruthless Narine sent him for four boundaries and a six to take 26 runs and raised his fifty.
Lynn then took over and picked Chahal for the special treatment as he took 20 runs from the bowler with a four and two sixes to notch up the record of most runs in powerplay.
Narine got out immediately after that and Lynn followed suit in the next over but by then irreparable damage had been done as KKR were on course for an
easy win.