IPL 2021: "Credit to the bowling coach" - KKR's Sunil Narine after match-winning performance against DC
Sunil Narine starred with both bat and ball as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured two crucial points against Delhi Capitals (DC) to consolidate their position in the top four of the IPL 2021 points table.
Opting to bowl first, Sunil Narine gave KKR a great start, dismissing the in-form Shreyas Iyer for one run after Lockie Ferguson had got Shikhar Dhawan out. He also got the better of Lalit Yadav (0) to put KKR on top.
Bowls in the powerplay, chokes in the middle, defends at the death. Keeps evolving & comes back stronger with new actions, retaining the mystery.
Roles with bat: Top order biffer, spin enforcer in the middle overs, & now FINISHER.
Sunil Narine: An absolute legend of T20 Sport. https://t.co/KIvtXMgviu
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Speaking at the end of the match, Sunil Narine admitted that there was some spin on offer on the wicket and also credited the KKR bowling coach for his stellar effort.
"Watching a few games here, knew there's a bit of spin here. Didn't want to get too full. I've been through a lot. Need to give credit to bowling coach, that's a plus and that's been key for me to come back," he said.
Sunil Narine returned with figures of 2/18 from his four overs. Equally good contributions from Lockie Ferguson and Venkatesh Iyer helped Kolkata restrict the star-studded Delhi Capitals batting to just 127 runs.
"Hardwork paying off after a long time" - Sunil Narine on his batting
Chasing a below-par total, KKR were off to a flier courtesy of Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer. But the Delhi bowlers crawled back with a spirited performance, picking up a couple of wickets in a cluster.
However, Nitish Rana held the fort from one end before Sunil Narine played a blinder from the other end to close in on the target. The West Indian cricketer was delighted with his performance with the bat.
"Batting in the middle-order is challenging. Its pleasing to see hardwork paying off after a long time," Narine said.
Sunil Narine smashed 21 runs in just 10 balls, while Nitish Rana remained unbeaten on 36 runs from 27 balls to take KKR home with 10 balls to spare.
With this victory, the Knight Riders have strengthened their position in the top four with 10 points from 11 games. The two-time IPL champions play the Punjab Kings next in Dubai on Friday.