Narine doesn’t think of himself as a pinch-hitter anymore: Dinesh Karthik

Sunil Narine has played purely as a bowler for his national side. However, come IPL, the left-handed batsman changes gears and smacks best of the bowlers at will opening the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders. The left-hander played some cracking shots during his match-winning innings against Kings XI Punjab. He smashed 9 fours and 4 sixes during his 75-run innings which came in just 36 balls. Notably, Narine was promoted at the top as the pinch-hitter but has owned the opening slot through his consistency batting performances.

Mature innings from Narine: Karthik

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper who notched up his half-century during the same match talking about the all-rounder said that the West Indian doesn’t consider himself just a pinch-hitter anymore. As per Wisden India, Karthik said that he showed a lot of maturity during the knock.

“What I liked the most about him was that he was mature, he batted through. He doesn’t think of himself as a pinch-hitter anymore. He thinks of himself as a batsman who can contribute, which is big,” said the KKR skipper.

Happy to contribute with the bat: Narine

Interestingly, bowling to the left-handed batsman has been a challenge for the bowlers. Teams have tried to bowl barrage of short balls to Narine who has bravely taken the beatings and then went on to torment the bowlers. In the 12 matches of the tournament, Narine has scored 277 runs at an average of 23.08. His blistering strike rate of 177.56 has been very positive for the KKR. He has hit 29 fours and 18 sixes in the tournament.

Narine was named the man of the match during the match against Ravichandran Ashwin-led Kings XI Punjab. Talking about his knock post-match, Narine said that “It feels good knowing that I can contribute when I’m done with the ball. It’s good for the team and it puts less pressure on my bowling.”

When the KKR meets Rajasthan Royals in their all-important fixture, Narine would love to see his side through to the playoffs with yet another blistering knock.

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