35-year-old veteran Sunil Narine continued his Midas touch in the Indian Premier League 2024 as he slammed his maiden T20 ton in the clash against Rajasthan Royals. The West Indies star smashed a brilliant ton in 49 balls as he powered the Knight Riders' in the home clash at the Eden Gardens.
Opening the batting for KKR, Narine took a little time to find the middle of the bat but when he did find the sweet spot, Narine was creaming the shots all over the ground. Narine has become the first player in the history of IPL to score a hundred and have 100 wickets in the cash-rich league.
Narine has played 168 matches in IPL and 503 in T20s overall but to his hundred this time. The knock was laced with 12 fours and 6 sixes and he got another boundary before getting dismissed on 109 from 56 balls.
Narine's battle with Ravichandran Ashwin was a treat to watch out for. It seemed a cat-and-mouse contest with Ashwin trying to bowl wide deliveries in an attempt to see off the batter. He tonked the off-spinner for several boundaries. Narine has also become the third KKR player to hit a hundred in IPL. He joins the elite list of Brendon McCullum and Venkatesh Iyer as the only KKR players to hit a hundred.
Narine's stay came to an end when Trent Boult nailed one yorker and got the prized wicket in the 18th over. However, Narine's ton powered KKR to a handsome total of 223/6. Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches with a 9-ball 20-run knock as the Knight Riders posted a strong total.
KKR's Playing XI:
Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana
RR's Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
