Narine delivers KKR win over DC
MUMBAI: For a bowler who has had to miss large chunks of game time over the last decade tweaking and remodelling his oft-flagged action, Sunil Narine has played a lot of cricket in the last few months. Eight matches in The Hundred that began in July followed by 10 in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) meant the Trinidadian came into the IPL second leg with overs and wickets—19 across the two leagues—behind him. The spinner has been at the forefront of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) resurgence run in the UAE with three wins from four matches, the latest by three wickets against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.
On a sluggish Sharjah pitch, Narine was in his element, first courtesy two wickets in his fourover spell conceding 18 and then two sixes in a 10-ball 21 that freed up a tight 128-run chase from 96/5 in the 15th over.
One delivery provided a flashback moment. Loading up in his run-up while hiding the ball behind his right thigh, Narine changed his grip in a split second. The ball drifted away, and after pitching on a good length, spun back in through the batpad gap of Shreyas Iyer as he tried to run it through the off. Iyer wore a perplexed look, Narine a smile. The 33-year-old has taken six wickets in the four matches so far in the UAE, creating the kind of impact he is known for. Against Mumbai Indians last week, his wicket of Rohit Sharma not only stalled the opposition surge but sparked a collapse from 78/0 in the 10th over. In KKR’S next game against Chennai Super Kings, Narine was tasked with defending four runs off the final over. He dismissed Sam Curran off the first ball and the in-form Ravindra Jadeja off the fifth before Deepak Chahar got the all-important single. From a seemingly hopeless situation, Narine gave KKR hope. “I’m coming off a good amount of cricket,” Narine said after the MI game. “The Hundred, CPL and out here; it’s been a while since I’ve played so much cricket and I’m happy to be playing as much as possible. I’ve put a lot of work into my action and it’s getting better and better.”
In the last IPL season in the UAE, Narine was reported again for suspect action and put on the warning list. It capped off a poor season for Narine (and KKR)—HE took five wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 7.94, his least productive and most expensive season since he burst into the league with his tricks in 2012.
Narine needed an outlet to regain form and belief. The Hundred and CPL gave him that. He took seven wickets in eight matches for Oval Invincibles first, and in the 10 CPL matches for Trinbago Knight Riders, took 12 wickets at an economy of 4.37. Narine was back to creating breakthroughs and stifling batters. “I’ve been through a lot. I’ve to give thanks to Kyle (Mills, KKR bowling coach); he has been doing a fantastic job with me,” Narine said after Tuesday’s win.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 127/9 in 20 overs (S Smith 39, R Pant 39; L Ferguson 2/10, S Narine 2/18) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 130/7 in 18.2 overs (N Rana 36*; Avesh Khan 3/13) by 3 wickets.