After his 85-run knock against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling allrounder Sunil Narine said that cricket is all about batting. Narine opened for the Kolkata-based franchise and played an 85-run knock from just 39 balls at a strike rate of 217.95. The Caribbean allrounder smashed 7 fours and sixes during his time on the crease. While speaking at the post-match presentation, Narine said he was pleased to contribute with the bat. However, the 35-year-old added that he enjoys his bowling.
When asked about opening with Philip Salt for KKR, he added that the English batter takes the pressure off from his partner.
"Cricket is all about batting, so to contribute with the bat is pleasing but I also enjoy my bowling. (On batting down the order with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) We had sufficient batters, so the opening was not needed then. At the end of the day, it is about what the team requires. Batting with Salt is good, he takes the pressure off me so it's good to bat with him. On a good wicket like that, we bowled well and were on the money, so a total team effort from us tonight," Narine said.
Summarizing the match, KKR's target of 273 turned out to be too much for DC as they gave in to pressure and ended up suffering a 106-run defeat.
The pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora bagged two wickets each to reduce DC to 33/4 in the powerplay.
These early blows derailed DC's approach to chasing down the massive total which got more challenging with each delivery.
Eventually, the required rate turned out to be too much as they ended up suffering a 106-run defeat.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)