Sunil Narine is arguably the best T20 bowler in the world at the moment. No batsman in the world has been able to solve his mystery, and he stands undefeated in the T20 arena.
In the last 2 years, Narine has been Kolkata Knight Riders’ trump card in the Indian Premier League (IPL). On the pitches that are suitable for spin bowling, Narine becomes unplayable. His mysterious spin combined with accuracy, is a nightmare for any batsman in the world.
Sunil Narine will represent Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s CLT20. On the slow, low and turning pitches of India, Narine is the bowler to look out for. Narine’s role in KKR is very well defined. KKR’s captain Gautam Gambhir uses Narine at two stages:
1) To break a partnership in the middle overs, and
2) In the death overs
Bowling in death overs is one of the most difficult jobs for any bowler, as batsmen are looking to strike every ball out of the ground. With the kind of bats batsmen use these days and short boundaries, even the miss hit clears the ground. Sunil Narine is a specialist when it comes to death overs. At the time when bowlers are worried about getting their lines right, Narine just comes and bowls his mysterious deliveries with utmost ease. He’s always very relaxed in the middle, and this is his greatest strength. Even if goes for a six on the first ball of the over, he backs himself to bowl 5 dots ball after that.
In CLT20 2014, KKR will be relying heavily on him. There will be a whole bunch of young domestic batsmen who would have never seen Narine before. For them, facing Narine will not be easy. And, this is where Kolkata Knight Riders will have an edge over other teams.
In my opinion, Narine, who holds the record of bowling a maiden in super over, will be the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, if KKR progress in the tournament.
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Watch the video of Narine’s maiden super over, if you haven’t already:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PetmBve1mlw
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by The Cricket Analyst
