IPL 10: Steve Smith impressed by KKR's move to open with Sunil Narine

The Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steve Smith is very impressed with the way the Kolkata Knight Riders have experimented with their opening slot. KKR sprung a surprise when they opted to open with Sunil Narine alongside skipper Gautam Gambhir. The West Indies bowler has been responding in fine fashion by giving some solid starts to the Knight Riders in the powerplays.

Narine was not the first pick for the KKR camp as the opener. They had promoted Chris Lynn to open the innings with Gambhir in the first couple of matches. Lynn had stitched an unbeaten 184 run stand with Gambhir in the season opener for the Knight Riders. However, the Australian big-hitter had to bow out of the action due to a shoulder injury.

It was just then that the team think tank thought of opening with Sunil Narine. Narine had earlier opened for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League this year. Narine was a massive success early on in the season with a quickfire cameo in the very first game that he played as the opener. He had scored 37 against the Kings XI Punjab in his first appearance as the opener for KKR.

Since then, the mystery spinner has continued to impress with the bat. When he was plundering runs at will in the most recent game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Narine managed to catch the attention of Steve Smith. The Australian batsman looked very impressed with the way Narine showed an out and out approach in the powerplay.

Narine hit 34 off just 17 balls on the day and made full use of the field restrictions to hit 6 fours and a six. Smith took to social media site Twitter to speak about the KKR’s trump card this season. He noted that Narine has been a revelation for the team this season. He tweeted, “Sunil Narine has been a revelation at the top of the order for KKR #boundaries”.

Sunil Narine has been a revelation at the top of the order for KKR #boundaries

— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) April 23, 2017

The Twitterati also loved the way Narine went all guns blazing in the match against RCB. Here is how the fans reacted:

Abe @sunil narine you are bowler, just reminded you #RCBvKKR #KKRvRCB @IPL

— Karthik bharadwaj (@karthikdwaj) April 23, 2017

Sunil Narine Status:No Singles,Only Boundaries???

— P₹@$@D (@cric_prasad) April 23, 2017

This #Sunil #Narine Trick Is Working More Often Than Not. 28* In 12 Balls Already. ??????#KKRvRCB #RCBvKKR #IPL #IPL10 #IPL2017 pic.twitter.com/yN6DjkMF7m

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) April 23, 2017

#KKRvRCB sunil narine that moment when backbencher getting good score than toppers…

— Innocent Guy (@HelloDexter21) April 23, 2017

Who wud have thought Sunil Narine will be an apt replacement 4 Chris Lynn as an Opener! Man he is smashing like a proper batsman!?#KKRvRCB

— Yash Kansara (@YKKansara) April 23, 2017