Press Trust of India
Kolkata, May 9: The smile should be back on the genial man’s face. Troubles of chucking have plagued him all through this season and after being finally cleared of all the issues, Sunil Narine (4/19) finally abolished the ghosts regarding his action.
But even then all his good work would have come to nothing had not another West Indian – the ‘Superman’ Andre Russell (51, 21b, 5×4, 4×6) played a blinder to help Kolkata Knight Riders go on top of the IPL points table with a one-wicket victory over laggards Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Eden Gardens here Saturday. Chasing 184 for victory, KKR reached there just about time with one ball to spare. Fittingly, it was Narine who was in the middle when the ball thudded on to his pad and he got the winning run as a leg bye.
However, this match will probably go a long way it helping Narine regain his confidence. He had been a shadow of his past… but after Saturday that man from Trinidad, probably will go back to his wife and say ‘I have done it’. Not a man of many words, Narine made the ball talk as the KXIP batters struggle against him.
Murali Vijay (27, 21b, 4×4, 1×6) was beaten by the off-spin and bowled;, Glenn Maxwell (43, 22b, 4×4, 3×6) misread the pace of the ball as it hastened off the pitch and he could only hit it down mid-wicket’s throat; Wriddhiman Saha (33, 25b, 2×6) tried to sweep a fuller delivery and his timbers were disturbed and Manan Vohra (39, 34b, 1×4, 3×6) was beaten in flight and lobbed the ball back to Narine for a return catch. A splendid show by a bowler who has been much maligned in the recent past.
But then other than Narine, all the other KKR bowlers were spanked all over the park… a worrying thought definitely for Gambhir. And to top it all, the hosts dropped six catches. Surely this will give the support staff sleepless nights.
But then Superman changed all that. In cricket the adage goes ‘catches win matches’. But Russell, with his blitzkrieg changed it and now it can be safely said that ‘side’s which drop catches also win matches’.
Russell was ably assisted by Yusuf Pathan (29, 19b, 1×4, 3×6) and Piyush Chawla (18, 11b, 2×4, 1×6). In fact after Russell’s departure it was Chawla who ensured victory for the hosts with his timely knock.
After losing four wickets in the first 10 overs, KKR came back into the game when Pathan and Russell struck 24 runs off Axar Patel. From then on, even though, KXIP took wickets regularly, a KKR victory was on the cards. They achieved but not before surviving some anxious moments.
Brief scores: KXIP 183 for 5 (Glenn Maxwell 43, Manan Vohra 39, Sunil Narine 4/19) lost to KKR 184 for 9 (Andre Russell 51, Gurkeerat Singh 2/17) by one wicket.
