All the talk has been around the runs Rinku Singh scored and the catches he took in Kolkata Knight Riders’ win over Lucknow Super Giants via Super Over on Sunday. However, the target set for the hosts was far from match-winning and required very good bowling to limit them beyond the 155/7 posted by KKR.
Till that final-over botch-up from pacer Kartik Tyagi, the Knight Riders were controlling the game. And the man who played a leading role was Sunil Narine, their long-serving asset.
In his 15th season with the Knight Riders, the 37-year-old off-spinner is still regarded as his team’s go-to bowler in a high-pressure situation or in a Super Over. “Sunil Narine is our best bowler. So obviously, he would be the one to bowl in the Super Over as we trust him to do the job for us,” pacer Vaibhav Arora said.
In Narine’s own words, bowling first in the Super Over is “a bit easier”. But even during the Super Giants’ run chase, his spell of 1/23 — the vital wicket of a set Rishabh Pant — was massive in keeping the opposition under pressure.
Not just on Sunday, even against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens and a few other matches, the Knights’ opponents haven’t really found it easy to put Narine — just one short of 200 wickets in KKR colours — away.
Narine may not be that prolific a wicket-taker he used to be. But his economy rate (6.66) and dot balls (68) so far in this edition have been just as important for the Knights.
Just as he has been right through his career, Narine quietly and steadily goes about his job, underlining how much of an unsolved mystery he continues to be.
Impact on Varun
On many occasions, Narine and Varun Chakravarthy have been seen bowling in tandem at nets before the start of KKR’s training sessions. Helping Varun with his knowledge and experience in their seven seasons together at KKR is pretty obvious on Narine’s part.
Besides, Narine has consistently set the game up for Varun with his tight bowling, while his presence in the dressing room too mattered a lot when Varun went through a tough phase in the initial stages of this season.