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Sunil Narine. (Photo Source: ILT20)
Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their third defeat in the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) as they lost against Mumbai Indians by five wickets in their latest game on Sunday, April 16. Mumbai Indians easily chased a 186-run target as Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers struggled to make an impact. The veteran spinner Sunil Narine conceded 41 runs off his three overs as he bowled his most expensive spell in IPL history.
Known for his greedy spells, Narine was introduced in the fourth over as Mumbai openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started explosively. But Narine also suffered the same fate as he conceded 22 runs from four boundaries. Narine next came to bowling in the 10th over after Ishan’s departure as Kolkata tried to make a comeback.
But Narine endured another expensive over as Tilak Verma smashed a big six over a deep square to accelerate Mumbai’s innings. The Caribbean finally impressed as he conceded just eight runs while bowling the 16th over but was not trusted to complete his four-over quota.
Sunil Narine proved too expensive and leaked runs against the Mumbai Indians
The ace spin wizard of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunil Narine, conceded runs at an economy rate of 13.66, to produce his most expensive spell in IPL history. Narine’s previous expensive spells came against Punjab Kings in 2019, and Delhi Capitals in 2020. On both occasions, he conceded runs at an economy rate of 13.00 from his two-over spell with no success.
But the 34-year-old right-arm spinner remains economically the best bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders this season with six wickets from five innings at an economy rate of 8.31. Narine has taken 158 wickets from 153 IPL games at an amazing economy rate of 6.68 so far. He has the second-best economy rate in tournament history among active cricketers and sixth overall.
Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer recorded his first IPL century to help Kolkata Knight Riders score 185/6 while batting first at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. But Ishan Kishan’s 58 off 25 and 43 runs from Suryakuamar helped Mumbai Indians chase the target with 14 balls remaining. For Kolkata, Suyash Sharma took two wickets while coming in as an impact player but the remaining bowlers conceded runs at an economy rate of over 9.00.
