There isn’t anything that Sunil Narine can’t do in the IPL, for KKR. In one match, he shines with the ball, and in the other, he absolutely wreaks havoc with the bat, opposition bowlers. On Tuesday, it was Narine’s turn to do the damage with the bat, as he went on to score his maiden ton in IPL, in the match versus Rajasthan Royals.
In his innings of 109, Narine was exceptional with the bat as he raced his way to a hundred in only 49 deliveries. Believe it or not, this is the joint-fastest ton for KKR in the IPL, a record Narine shares with Venkatesh Iyer. After this momentous achievement by the West Indian, it was obvious that the entire team and owner Shah Rukh Khan were celebrating.
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But one reaction stood out. And that was of mentor Gautam Gambhir, who kind of, has redeemed Sunil Narine the batter. During the drinks break after the ton, Gambhir just rushed towards the batsman and hugged him tight, as if signaling, that he had full faith in Narine, that he’ll do it someday.
Gambhir Makes All the Difference to Narine’s Batting
Ever since Gambhir became the mentor this year, Narine has been KKR’s best batsman, and by a mile. In six matches this year, he has scored 276 runs at an average of 46. Compare this to 2023, he had played 14 matches, and scored only 21 runs. In 2022, he had 71 runs in 14 matches. Of course, Narine accepted after his innings, “Gambhir give me confidence & assurance about the opening ahead of the season.”
He added, (If someone had told him at the start of the IPL that he’d be in the running for orange cap) “I’d have taken it as a joke because I hadn’t opened in a long time. With GG (Gambhir) coming back, he gave me the confidence and assurance that I’ll open. I want to give the team a good start in as many of the 14 innings, job is just to give the team a good start and then keep going.”
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