When Sunil Narine first broke onto the international scene, he made a name for himself as a ‘mystery’ spinner. As batters struggled to read his deliveries, he bamboozled and dismissed them. A few years after his debut, the Kolkata Knight Riders picked him up at one of the IPL auctions for a substantial amount.
While Narine remains miserly in his bowling, an aspect of his game that has evolved over the years is his batting. During the initial stages of his IPL career, KKR used him as a pinch-hitter at the top of the order. In this role, Narine was given the license to go after the bowling and was not held responsible if the ploy did not work.
With the return of Gautam Gambhir to KKR this season, they decided to do an encore of this trick and sent Narine to open the innings with Phil Salt. And the move has worked like a charm. More often than not, the duo have managed to get KKR off to blistering starts with both of them going after the bowling.
More notably, Narine has regained his best form at the top of the order this season and has succeeded even when Phil Salt has failed. This was certainly the case yesterday as the West Indian put the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling attack to the sword and helped KKR set up a mammoth total. During his knock of 109 from 56 balls, Narine smashed 13 fours and 6 sixes and sent the Royals on a leather-hunt across the Eden Gardens.
Narine’s knock yesterday was a testament to how much he has evolved over the years as a batter. Gone were the days when Narine’s primary objective with the bat was to swing lustily at anything within his arc. Instead, he developed a keen understanding of his role as an opener, blending caution with aggression to devastating effect. His ability to capitalize on the fielding restrictions in the powerplay overs became the stuff of legend, as he routinely plundered runs with disdainful ease.
But what truly sets Narine apart from his contemporaries is his sheer audacity at the crease. Unlike traditional openers who rely on orthodox technique and textbook shots, Narine’s batting is a masterclass in unorthodoxy. In an era dominated by power-hitting and run-scoring records, Sunil Narine stands out as a beacon of hope for the purists. His evolution from a humble spinner to a feared batting maestro is a testament to the limitless possibilities that cricket offers to those willing to push the boundaries of their craft.
