Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) turned back the clock against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with figures of 2/15 to assist the visitors defeat MS Dhoni and Co. at the Chepauk on Sunday, May 14.
Many concerns were raised regarding Narine’s status in the team after he had a terrible run of form, taking just one wicket in the nine games before the CSK encounter. However, the management continued to believe in Narine’s abilities, and he delivered.
Sunil Narine has previously performed admirably against the Chennai Super Kings. He has 22 wickets at an economy rate of 6.38 in 19 IPL games versus the Men in Yellow. On that point, here are three instances where Narine made life difficult for the CSK batters:
3) 2/15, Chennai vs. Kolkata Knight Riders, May 14, 2023
KKR were in a do-or-die scenario at their home stadium against probably one of the most in-form teams in CSK. They also lost the toss, giving the hosts one further edge. KKR spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, though, bowled tight and helped the visitors restrict Chennai to 144/6 in 20 overs.
Narine bowled a superb over just after the powerplay, dismissing both Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali and putting CSK further behind in the game. These wickets squandered all of Chennai’s momentum in the powerplay, and they may have fallen 15-20 runs short. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh both hit half-centuries as KKR eased home with six wickets in hand.
2) 2/14, KKR vs CSK, Kolkata, May 14, 2012
CSK won the game in a last-ball thriller in Kolkata back in 2012. Sunil Narine, the hosts’ finest bowler, also left his imprint on the contest. Narine’s breakout IPL season was in 2012, and his play demonstrated why he was so highly regarded.
CSK faced a difficult target of 159 to chase and got off to a great start, with Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay combining for 97 runs for the first wicket. However, it was Narine’s dismissal of both openers in rapid succession that drew KKR back into the game.
Rajat Bhatia and others also maintained the pressure until the final ball. Dwayne Bravo, though, smashed a six on the last ball with five runs remaining, and the visitors grabbed triumph from the jaws of loss.
1) 3/41, CSK vs KKR, Abu Dhabi, September 26, 2021
Sunil Narine’s finest bowling effort against CSK came in yet another last-ball drama during the IPL 2021 season, this time at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
CSK, chasing 172 to win, got off to a flying start with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis, who contributed 74 runs for the first wicket. However, KKR proceeded to take up wickets at regular intervals, eventually bringing things back. Ravindra Jadeja’s cameo of 22 off eight balls had CSK on the verge of an easy win, but it was Narine who kept KKR in the game.
Sunil Narine removed both Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja in the final over of the match, allowing only four runs to be scored. However, that was all he could do as CSK won with a single from Deepak Chahar on the last ball.
