"Getting belted by Narine in Big 2024 is a liquidation worthy offence" - Fans react to KKR opener's blistering show against RCB in IPL 2024
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opening batter Sunil Narine made his 500th T20 appearance a memorable affair, scoring 47 runs off 22 deliveries against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The left-handed batter played the entertaining knock at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, March 29.
KKR were tasked with chasing down 183 to become the first away team to record a win in the 2024 IPL. Narine, who could only score two runs before being run out in the season opener against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), gave KKR the perfect start against RCB.
Mirroring his famous innings in the same fixture in 2017, where he recorded the fastest IPL fifty at that time, Narine made the most of the powerplay. The left-handed batter took on the bowlers along with Phil Salt, and KKR ended up with 85 runs in the first six overs, well above their asking rate.
Narine's quickfire knock came to an end after he was bowled by a Mayank Dagar yorker in the seventh over. The Caribbean ace recorded two fours and five sixes in his innings to lay down the foundation for KKR to chase down the target.
Fans lauded his for his performance and trolled RCB for losing their plot in the second innings. Here are some of the reactions on X (formerly Twitter):
Sunil Narine had last scored an IPL fifty in the 2020 edition
Narine has played in a wide variety of batting positions in the recent past, but not with much success. He has only been able to cross double figures a handful of times since the 2021 edition of the IPL. His last fifty came against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020.
As far as his recent form is concerned, he struggled with the bat for the Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He also failed to perform in the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20 (ILT20).
Although KKR lost Phil Salt's wicket soon after his opening partner's dismissal, they are cruising in the run chase. The middle-order pair of Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer have taken the baton and steered KKR to 112-2 at the halfway mark of the innings.