IPL 2017, Match 46, RCB vs KKR, CT Player of the Match - Sunil Narine

Winning the all important toss at Bengaluru, Gautam Gambhir decided to field first. It was a cunning decision by the KKR skipper who has been brilliant both as a captain and batsman this season as he chose to back their strength as a chasing team. Stepping onto the field with openers Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh, RCB were hit hard at the very beginning of the innings as Gayle departed for a golden duck on his 100th IPL game.

Skipper Virat Kohli and star player AB de Villiers followed the path of the hard-hitting Gayle and lost their wickets in quick succession leaving RCB in a disastrous situation at the start of the innings. However, Mandeep Singh was still at the crease as he was joined by the left-handed Travis Head and the both combined to take RCB to a respectable score of 158/6.

Head unleashed himself towards the very end of his innings and remained unbeaten on 75 of just 47 balls while Singh bagged a 50 but couldn’t stay till the very end. After a dull game with the ball against Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunil Narine bowled well to pick two wickets for 29 runs and didn’t allow the batsmen to get going on a slow Chinnaswamy pitch.

Coming out to bat with a target of 158 to chase, the KKR opening pair had other ideas in mind. The duo of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine redefined destruction with their bat and completely blew away the RCB bowling attack. The duo brought up the team’s hundred in just six overs and killed the game before the bowlers could settle down. Chris Lynn marked his return in outstanding fashion while Sunil Narine brought up his 50 off just 15 balls which left the cricketing world speechless.

However, both Narine and Lynn lost their wickets after scoring their respective 50’s but not before laying the platform for a cakewalk for the Knight Riders.

Having said that, Sunil Narine is CricTracker’s Player of the Match.

Gave KKR a flying start:

He gave us an example of his wild side as he took the RCB bowling attack by storm. The left-handed batsman did not allow the RCB bowlers to get into the game as he bludgeoned the deliveries all around the park. Narine marked the start of his onslaught when he mercilessly hit Samuel Badree for three consecutive sixes and a four setting up the mood for the KKR run chase. He then took the attack to Srinath Arvind and the result was the same. The spiky haired pinch hitter effortlessly blew away everything that came his way slowly taking away the game from the opponents.

Built a brilliant partnership with Chris Lynn:

There was much concern over the KKR opening pair with the return of Australian Chris Lynn from injury. The decision was to be made between skipper Gautam Gambhir, Lynn and Narine. It was Gambhir who sacrificed his spot and sent the duo to start the KKR inning. They kept the value of the decision and put up an opening partnership that will stay in the minds of the fans for long.

The West Indian started the carnage and made it look as easy as it can get while Chris Lynn joined the party soon after. Both the batsmen were ruthless in their approach and the duo brought up the team’s hundred in just 6 overs. Chasing a target of 158 runs the match went out of RCB’s hands by that point of itself, courtesy some ruthless hitting from Narine and Lynn.

Scored the joint fastest 50 in IPL history:

Sunil Narine’s inning was not only about the big hitting but it also entered the record books. The West Indian’s knock pierced through the fastest IPL fifty chart to sit at the top along with Yusuf Pathan’s inning against the Sunrisers Hyderabad back in 2014. He brought up his 50 in just 15 balls which included 4 sixes and 6 fours with an incredible strike rate of 317.65. He was picked up by Aniket Choudhary shortly after completing his 50 for a score of 54 off 17 balls.