The Kolkata Knight Riders is having a great IPL 2024 so far. With three wins in three matches, the Shreyas Iyer-led side is sitting at the top in the points table. The Knights have been brilliant in all departments with the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in great form. After not qualifying for the play-offs last season, the Knights have shown good early promise. KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan is also happy with the side's performance and could be seen cheering his team from the stands in its matches.
He also met the team in the dressing room after their recent win against Delhi Capitals.
"God bless you all. Nice to see Varun taking those catches. Nice to see Sunil running so hard. Nice to see all of you smiling and so happy. God bless you all. Just be healthy and coach tells me it's me who is coming and making you guys win. So, next time, if I'm not there, just try harder without me. I will try to be there and assist you guys and do all that I do. Thank you very much, and be healthy,” Shah Rukh Khan said as the KKR players burst into laughter to a thunderous applause from the players and the support staff in the dressing room.
Following Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the former India cricketer Parthiv Patel lauded all-rounder Sunil Narine after his match-winning performance.
Narine was the tormentor-in-chief as his pyrotechnic-filled 85 in 39 balls helped Kolkata post 272/7, the second-highest total in IPL history, which they defended despite half-centuries from DC skipper Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs. DC was bundled out for 166 runs and lost the game held at Visakhapatnam by 106 runs.
The 39-year-old stated that Narine is the kind of player who can help his side in winning the game while opening the innings. He further stated that it is exciting to see a batter like Narine playing.
"When Gautam Gambhir was captain of KKR, he was completely convinced that Sunil Narine is the kind of player who could win them matches if he opened the batting. He came back to KKR and has done just that. A lot of things make a difference. Knowing you have someone who backs you, allows you to bat with confidence. Without a doubt, his batting is exciting. If you score 85 off 39 balls and it feels like every other ball can go for a four or a six, it is exciting," Parthiv said as quoted by Jio Cinema.
Coming to yesterday's match, with explosive knocks from Sunil Narine (85 in 39 balls, with seven fours and seven sixes), the 18-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi (54 in 27 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and cameos from Andre Russell (41 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rinku Singh (26 in eight balls, with one four and three sixes) took the two-time champions to 272/7 in 20 overs.
Anrich Nortje (3/59) was the pick of the bowlers for DC, but leaked a lot of runs. Ishant Sharma (2/43) was also solid with the ball. Khaleel Ahmed and Mitchell Marsh took a wicket each.
With ANI inputs