Before we even start talking about the carnage that was inflicted on the bowlers in the KKR vs PBKS match, bowler Sunil Narine deserves a special mention. The IPL and Kolkata veteran, went about his business with the ball rather quietly, ending with match figures of 1/24 in his four overs. They are in itself excellent figures in a T20 match; but what makes it a stupendous effort, is the fact that, as many as 523 runs were scored in the entire encounter on Friday, at the Eden Gardens.
Now to the main culprits, the batsmen. Right from Phil Salt, Narine, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, and Shashank Singh, all made hay. Their strike-rates were over the roof, and yet not so surprising, considering the way things have been going this IPL 2024. So, let’s revisit them all, one by one.
Narine & Salt Bat for Fun
To strike at over 200 in a T20 match used to be quite a rarity before this IPL. Now Narine and Salt have totally normalised it. Enroute their 261, the duo stitched a partnership of 138, that too in 62 deliveries only. Narine ended with 71 from 32 with a strike rate of 221, Salt scored 75 from 37 at a strike rate of 202.
The Shreyas Iyer Surprise
Shreyas Iyer might be an excellent batsman, but no one really associates him with power-hitting. That job is best left to the muscle-men of the Kolkata side. But then something got into Iyer on Friday, where he struck at 280. The KKR skipper scored 28 from 10 deliveries only, hitting three sixes and a four.
Prabhsimran Started it All
Not Bairstow, not Shashank. The credit of PBKS chasing down the steep total has to go to Prabhsimran Singh. It was he, who started taking on bowlers, when there was no hope for them to reach the target. He smashed his fifty in only 18 deliveries, and when Bairstow was 11 off eight.
Shashank Singh Justifies Promotion
When you’re sent out to bat over Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma, you need to grab that opportunity with both hands. Shashank with his 68 from 28 made no. 4 his spot for the rest of the season. When Rilee Rossouw departed, Punjab still needed 84 from 45. Shashank owned the stage on the day and created history for his side.
Lucky, Mitchell Starc Didn’t Play
An injured Starc might be a relieved man after the KKR vs PBKS match. Where the Aussie is already under a lot of scrutiny for not delivering as per his hefty price tag, he would have been decimated, if he had been part of the losing Kolkata side vs Punjab.
World Needs to Learn from Narine
When all the other bowlers were going for over 10 runs per over, Narine managed something unique. He gave away only 24 runs in his spell in a match, where the world record for most sixes in a T20 was created. It has been over a decade now, and the world still hasn’t figured out a way to consistently hit Narine.
Editors pick
