Sunil Narine may well be in the evening of his career, but he is proving a nightmare for the bowlers at this IPL.
The 35-year-old West Indies all-rounder — his last international game came five years ago — smashed his maiden career hundred in front of a massive, happy, noisy crowd at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday night. His 56-ball 109 (13x4, 6x6) took Kolkata Knight Riders to 223 for six after being asked to bat first by Rajasthan Royals.
It was a brilliant innings from Narine, who is repaying the faith put in him by the KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir. An assured run at the top of the order has helped him play with freedom and boldness.
This was a special knock on several counts. It was the first ever hundred by a KKR batter at home, and only the third in the IPL.
Narine showed no respect to any of the Royals bowlers, including the champion spin duo of R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. He played strokes around this hallowed ground, but he seemed particularly keen to hit the bowlers over their heads.
Narined carried the KKR batting on his shoulders. Only one other batter reached 30, as the promising teenager Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30, 18b, 5x4) helped him add 85 for the second wicket.
That partnership was crucial. KKR had lost Phil Salt in the fourth over, as Avesh Khan provided the breakthrough for Royals in stunning fashion. He brought off a superb one-handed return catch off his own bowling, showing good reflex to pluck the ball that was hit with some power.
Avesh may not have been the happiest Royals man with that dismissal, though. That would have been Riyan Parag, who had dropped an easy catch from Salt at backward point off Trent Boult. That was just the second ball of the innings.
Narine and Raghuvanshi, however, went on to frustrate the Royals bowlers, until the latter lashed hard at the short, wide ball from Kuldeep Sen only to find R. Ashwin at third man.
It took a fine yorker from Trent Boult to end Narine’s remarkable innings.
