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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Sunil Narine has had an inconsistent IPL 2023 season so far and that has reflected in his team's performance as they are languishing in the eighth place at the time of writing.
Kolkata have won just two out of their seven games so far and have probably reached a stage where they cannot afford another huge loss if they want to qualify for the playoffs. They are up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While the odds are against them, KKR will want Sunil Narine to step up against an opposition he has had some impressive performances in the past. In 18 IPL matches against RCB, Narine has picked up 23 wickets at a fantastic economy rate of just 6.18.
Narine also picked up figures of 2/16 when the two teams met earlier this season at the Eden Gardens and that proved to be vital as the hosts thumped RCB by a massive margin of 81 runs. This could inspire him to dish out an incredible performance tonight.
On that note, let's take a look at Sunil Narine's top 3 performances with the ball against RCB:
#3 4/22, KKR vs RCB, Ranchi, IPL 2013
A low-scoring thriller in Ranchi awaited both KKR and RCB and it was Sunil Narine who flexed his muscles in conditions that tested the batters. It was a tough pitch to bat, but RCB had the hope of getting to a competitive target as they were 95/3 at one stage.
However, Narine ended up getting a sensational four-wicket haul and RCB collapsed to just 115/9 in their 20 overs. Virat Kohli marshaled his troops really well as the RCB bowlers did make things difficult for KKR. But the target proved to be just within Kolkata's reach as they won in the final over with four balls to spare.
#2 4/21, KKR vs RCB, Sharjah, IPL 2021 Eliminator
KKR were down and out in the first half of the IPL 2021 season. However, when the second half of the tournament was played in the UAE, the Knight Riders seemed to be a completely different unit.
They were on a rampage as they went all the way to the final and it was Sunil Narine who helped them beat RCB in the Eliminator. Bangalore could only manage 138/7 in their 20 overs as Narine picked up sensational figures of 4/21. The game went right down to the wire, but KKR ended up getting across the line with two balls to spare.
#1 4/20, KKR vs RCB, Kolkata, IPL 2014
Sunil Narine had his best performance against RCB during the victorious 2014 season with KKR and this performance highlights why he was such an incredible addition to the side.
Robin Uthappa's sensational 83 and Shakib Al Hasan's explosive cameo down the order helped KKR post a mammoth total of 195/7. RCB had the firepower to chase down the total and although they lost Chris Gayle early, Virat Kohli kept them in the chase with some useful contributions from other batters.
But once Narine was introduced into the attack, he was just too good for the RCB batters as he kept on chipping away with wickets and ended up with figures of 4/20. KKR won the game by a healthy margin of 30 runs and Narine proved his worth as an absolute game-changer.
