LUCKOW : Sunil Narine continued his monumental 2024 season with an explosive half-century and solid knocks from Phil Salt and Ramandeep Singh powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 235/6 in their 20 overs against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Lucknow on Sunday.
After being put to bat first by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kolkata was off to a fine start.
Phil Salt started the assault by smashing Marcus Stoinis for two boundaries on the first two balls of the innings. In the third over, Naveen-ul-Haq was punished, with Narine and Salt hitting him for two fours each.
In the next over bowled by Mohsin Khan, Narine joined the party and pummeled him for three fours and a six, looting 20 runs from the over. KKR reached the 50-run mark in just 3.4 overs.
The 61-run stand between Salt and Narine was ended by Naveen, who got Salt caught by KL Rahul for 32 in 14 balls, with five fours and a six. KKR was 61/1 in 4.2 overs.
At the end of six overs, KKR was 70/1 after the powerplay, with Narine (31*) and Angkrish Raghuvnanshi (6*) unbeaten.
KKR brought up their 100-run mark in nine overs.
Halfway through their innings, KKR was 110/1, with Narine (54*) and Raghuvanshi (22*) unbeaten.
Narine reached his third fifty of the season with 27 balls, with six fours and three sixes.
The 79-run partnership between Raghuvanshi and Narine was ended by Ravi Bishnoi, who got Narine caught near the boundary by Devdutt Padikkal while attempting a straight six. Narine was back in the hut for 81 in 39 balls, with six fours and seven sixes. KKR was 140/2 in 12 overs.
Andre Russell was next up on the crease. KKR reached their 150-run mark in 12.4 overs.
Naveen got his second wicket as Krishnappa Gowtham came running from the cover region to catch Russell for 12 in eight balls. KKR was 167/3 in 14.2 overs.
The next batter to be dismissed was Raghuvanshi, who was caught behind by KL Rahul for 32 in 26 balls, with three fours and a six. KKR was 171/4 in 15.1 overs. Yudhvir Singh got his first wicket.
Rinku Singh was the next batter at the crease, aiming to get his first big score of the season.
With a four from Rinku, KKR reached the 200-run mark in 17.5 overs.
Rinku however could not get the score he was looking for as he was caught for just 16 in 10 balls by Stoinis at deep backward square leg on a delivery by Naveen. KKR was 200/5 in 18 overs.
The 19th over bowled by Yudhvir was expensive as Ramandeep hit him for two sixes over deep midwicket and long-on. The over gave away 17 runs.
Iyer was dismissed by Yash Thakur, with a brilliant diving catch by Rahul behind the stumps. KKR skipper walked back for 23 in 15 balls, with three fours. KKR was 224/6 in 19.3 overs.
KKR ended their innings at 235/6, with Ramandeep (25* in six balls, with a four and three sixes) unbeaten along with Venkatesh Iyer at 1*.
Naveen-ul-Haq (3/49) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG. Yash, Ravi and Yudhvir also got a wicket.
Brief Scores: KKR: 235/6 (Sunil Narine 81, Phil Salt 32, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/49) vs LSG. (ANI)