‘Back Myself to Play Spin’: Narine After His 32-Ball 64 on Return

On his return to Indian Premier League after missing four games due to suspect action, off-spinner Sunil Narine provided impetus to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batting, scoring a 32-ball 64 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 24 October.

But when he came on to bowl, Narine, who bowls 'mystery spin', went wicket-less in his quota of four overs and conceded 37 runs.

Also Read: Chakravarthy’s 5-Wicket Haul Helps KKR Thrash Delhi by 59 Runs

The West Indian was reported for bowling with a Suspected Illegal Bowling Action during KKR's match against Kings XI Punjab in Abu Dhabi on October 10, the Indian cricket board had announced. And on October 18, the board announced that Narine was cleared by the IPL's Suspect Bowling Action Committee.

"The committee also noted that Mr. Narine should reproduce the same action going forward in the IPL 2020 matches as presented to the committee in the video footage," said the board statement.

A brilliant FIFTY for @SunilPNarine74. His 4th in IPL.

He celebrates the same with a MAXIMUM.#Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/obxxs3Hk1i

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 24, 2020

On Saturday, Narine shone as a batsman against DC. He was particularly severe on spinner R Ashwin, taking as many as 32 of the 45 runs the India off-spinner conceded in his three overs. But KKR went on to beat DC by 59 runs.

"It was a part of the plan, whatever the situation was. I back myself to play spin, to get going against spinners is good for me. It is been a while. I am happy to be back and performing so hopefully it gives me the momentum to carry forward," said Narine after his knock.

Narine was brought on after the power-play and conceded 13 runs in his two overs.

Narine walked in to bat when KKR were struggling at 42 for the loss of three wickets and immediately launched into Ashwin before turning his attention to pace bowler Tushar Deshpande. The 32-year-old West Indian hit six fours and four sixes.

This was Narine's first half-century of the tournament, having failed to get past 20 in the previous six matches he played before this one.

KKR coach Brendon McCullum said, "Narine played a majestic knock on return. He is a tough competitor, he has played a lot of cricket, been through this in his career before. To come back like this speaks a lot about his mental strength."

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