Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off his first Indian Premier League (IPL) century in just 49 deliveries against the Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match. Jos Buttler and Ravichandran Ashwin are back in action, with Ashwin starting and Buttler serving as an impact substitute. The Knight Riders have announced an unchanged lineup.
Narine, who has returned to the starting lineup this season, once again impressed the audience with his free-flowing shots at Eden Gardens. Despite losing opening partner Phil Salt early, the left-handed batsman hit the RR bowlers all over the park, pushing his team to victory.
The West Indies spinner has played 168 IPL matches and scored over 1,322 runs, his top score being 109. He has an excellent strike rate of 164.84.
He smashed Purple Cap holder Yuzvendra Chahal for four boundaries in a row (2 sixes and 2 fours). When he reached his century, the Eden Gardens exploded in celebration, as KKR co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who has been regularly attending this season’s matches to support his side, danced in excitement.
Narine failed to achieve a double-digit score the previous season, but his fortunes changed with Gambhir’s presence in camp. Narine first opened in the IPL under his captaincy, and the two-time IPL winner returned him as an opener upon his return to the team as a mentor. Narine fearlessly took on one of IPL 2024’s top bowling line-ups, dismantling every challenger including Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Trent Boult with his explosive strokes.
He batted fearlessly, and Salt’s early dismissal wasn’t enough to stop him from hitting his bat. He and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi exchanged an 85-run partnership, giving the Knight Riders significant momentum in the innings. He was bowled out by Boult for 109, although his effort helped KKR reach 223/6 in 20 overs.
“Whenever Narine comes in, he is hard to read and he’s got that poker face all throughout, we want him to perform the way he has,” Iyer said at the toss.
However, Jos Buttler almost single-handedly guided the Rajasthan Royals to a record-equalling 224-run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring an unbeaten 107 off 60 balls. Buttler overcame cramping in the last over to score the winning runs, and RR equaled the IPL record for the most successful run chase, which they established last year.
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