West Indian spinner Sunil Narine was a show-stealer with both the bat and ball for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as the franchise crushed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by four wickets in the Eliminator of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) on Monday (October 11).
Narine returned with the excellent figures of 4/21 in his 4 overs to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 138 in the Eliminator of the ongoing IPL 2021.
Chasing the total, Narine brought KKR back into the game as he smashed 26 runs off 15 balls to helped his team chase down 139 with four wickets in hand against RCB on Monday in Sharjah. The all-rounder was adjudged Player of the Match for his efforts against RCB.
After the thrilling win over RCB, the KKR captain Eoin Morgan heaped praise on Narine for his match-winning all-around performance, saying his outstanding performance made the challenge very easy.
With the victory, KKR created the chance for them to reach the summit clash, as the two-time champions will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in Quarterfinal 2 on Wednesday, October 13 with the winner will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2021 final on October 15 in Dubai.
Morgan told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation: “Sunil Narine makes it look very easy. He bowled outstandingly well. Throughout the innings, we continued to take wickets. Good start from the bowlers, and we were in control in the chase.”
He added, “I quite like it having three spinners around. It is a huge privilege when there are world-class spinners around. They continue to get better and better. When it comes off with our batting order, it looks quite deep. For us, it is a matter of coming back and adjusting. We are looking forward to it.”
The Englishman signed off by saying, “I thought we had a chance when we landed in the UAE, but the cricket we have played has surprised everybody. Everyone came with a drive to perform... Narine is a cool customer and is very level-headed.”
(With ANI Inputs)
