Narine 'surprised' after recording quickest 50 in IPL

Sunil Narine has conceded that he had no idea he would hit the fastest half-century of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

>>IANS/bdnews24.com
Published : 7 May 2017, 04:01 PM
Updated : 7 May 2017, 04:03 PM

The Caribbean star was himself taken aback by his onslaught which powered Kolkata Knight Riders to an easy six-wicket win away at Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.

"Yes, I'm very surprised. Definitely wasn't expecting something like this," Narine, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his all-round show, said post-match at the presentation ceremony.

Narine's 17-ball 54 was complemented by 2-29 with the ball from his four overs which helped Kolkata restrict Bangalore to 158 for 6.

The visitors chased down the target with 29 balls to spare.

Chris Lynn was Narine's foil, the fit-again Australian dasher scoring a 22-ball 50. The openers added 105 runs off 36 balls to record the highest powerplay score in the lucrative T20 tournament to take the game away from Virat Kohli's men.

"Lynny just said, keep your eyes on the ball, maintain your focus and swing through the line. I try to keep it simple and back my ability," Narine said.

Narine has been opening the batting since Lynn injured his shoulder in a match against Mumbai Indians.

On taking the important wicket of AB de Villiers, Narine said: "That wicket was key (AB de Villiers) and pulled them back a bit so I'm happy. It was a total team effort. Bowlers stuck to their plans. Umesh (Yadav)'s was a key performance too."