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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Sunil Narine turned back the clock against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as his figures of 2/15 helped the visitors beat MS Dhoni and Co. at the Chepauk on Sunday, May 14.
A lot of questions were raised about Narine's place in the team as he had gone through a horrific patch of form, picking up just a solitary wicket in the nine games prior to the CSK one. However, the management continued to show faith in his quality and Narine delivered.
This isn't the first time that Sunil Narine has done well against the Chennai Super Kings. He has played 19 IPL games against the Men in Yellow, picking up 22 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.38. On that note, let's take a look at three occasions when Narine made life difficult for the CSK batters:
#3 2/15, CSK vs KKR, Chennai, May 14, 2023
KKR were in a do-or-die situation against arguably one of the most in-form teams in CSK in their own den. They also lost the toss, handing the hosts a further advantage. However, some tight bowling from KKR spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy helped the visitors restrict Chennai to just 144/6 in their 20 overs.
Narine bowled a magnificent over just after the powerplay, where he cleaned up both Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali and pushed CSK further behind in the game. These wickets gave away all the impetus that Chennai had in the powerplay and they arguably fell 15-20 runs short. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh scored half-centuries to ensure KKR were comfortably home with six wickets in hand.
#2 2/14, KKR vs CSK, Kolkata, May 14, 2012
It was a last-ball thriller in Kolkata back in 2012 where CSK ended up winning the game. However, Sunil Narine left his mark on that game too, being the hosts' best bowler. The 2012 season was Narine's breakout IPL season and this performance just showed why he was highly rated.
CSK had a tricky target of 159 to chase, and got off to an incredible start with both Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay adding 97 runs for the first wicket. However, it was Narine who brought KKR roaring back into the game as he dismissed both openers in quick succession.
Rajat Bhatia and others also kept the squeeze on as the game went to the last ball. However, Dwayne Bravo smashed a six on the final ball with five runs needed and the visitors snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
#1 3/41, CSK vs KKR, Abu Dhabi, September 26, 2021
Sunil Narine's best bowling performance against CSK came in yet another last-ball thriller, this time at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi during the IPL 2021 season.
Chasing 172 to win, CSK got off to a rollicking start from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis as the duo added 74 runs for the first wicket. But then KKR continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals, pulling things back gradually. A cameo of 22 from just eight balls from Ravindra Jadeja brought CSK almost to the cusp of an easy win, but it was Narine who kept KKR in the game.
Defending just four runs in the final over, Sunil Narine dismissed both Sam Curran and Jadeja and took the game to the last ball. However, that was all he could do as CSK won on the last ball with Deepak Chahar taking a single.
