Sunil Narine smashed the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history as he floored RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday. Narine’s carnage at the top of the order has taken the IPL by storm this season and many have been surprised to see this new avatar of the West Indian. However, while it might not be very evident, there is a certain technique and method to his approach.
In the fourth over of KKR’s innings, Narine smashed Samuel Badree for a hat-trick of sixes. Badree bowled the first ball around the wicket while the next two balls were delivered from over the wicket. The first and the third were googlies while the second ball was a traditional leg spinner. All three deliveries were pitched on a good length, just outside off stump. And on all three occasions, Narine played identical strokes to the same area. All three were lofted drives which landed over the long-off fence.
These three sixes pretty well sum up the method behind Narine’s batting. He chooses his spot, backs himself and swings without any hesitation. His muscle power along with the ‘no holding back’ attitude ensure that on most occasions the ball clears the thirty-yard circle.
Narine was chosen to open because KKR’s first choice opener Chris Lynn suffered an injury and the team management was determined to have a natural hitter at the top of the order to complement Gautam Gambhir’s measured approach. And now after 11 innings and 196 runs as an opener, the 28-year-old looks to be a permanent fixture at the top.
As a batsman, Narine is the ideal candidate to exploit the power play overs. He is fearless, has brutal power and can read the game pretty well. And although his batting gives an impression of reckless hitting there is certainly a method behind his madness.
It is not that the southpaw simply goes out and starts swinging his bat like a samurai warrior. Unlike a pinch hitter, this left-hand batsman puts a lot of thought behind his innings.
In the fifth over, Aravind bowled a short delivery to Narine. It was just another slightly slow, short ball which should have ideally been pulled to mid-wicket. However, Narine knew the fielder at mid-off was inside the circle. So he went back, slapped the ball with a horizontal bat, and placed it straight down the ground. It was incredible improvisation and even better execution.
Impeccable selection of target area
This is what Narine has done throughout this IPL. He is picking his spots and aiming for that region no matter where the bowler delivers the ball. And generally, he picks a region which is vacant so even if he mistimes his stroke he has no risk of getting out.
So far, Narine has hit nine sixes and all these sixes have been scored in the arc between long on and long off. There is an old saying, ‘the safest place to hit a cricket ball is over the bowler’s head’ and Narine has taken heed of these words.
As hitting the ball down the ground requires playing with a straight bat, it results in less risk. Thus, Narine follows a clear strategy while playing the big shots. He looks to go straight and packs enormous power in his strokes.
No fear
The fear of getting out is always in the minds of the batsmen and due to this, on numerous occasions, they fail to make the most of their opportunities. However, with Narine, this is seldom the case.
In the game against RCB, while facing Badree, on the third ball of the second over, Narine went down the track aiming for the long-off region but was completely outfoxed by the turn. He got an outside edge and luckily for him the ball landed away from the fielder at short-third man.
However, on the first ball of the next over, the left-hander once again aimed for the same region and this time his risk paid off. After narrowly surviving on the first attempt, Narine had the guts to repeat his stroke.
This fearless brand of cricket is another reason for his astonishing success. He always backs himself and does not hold back.
Go big or go home
One of the key elements of Narine’s batting is his reliance on boundaries. Out of his 196 runs, 174 have come through boundaries – 30 fours and nine sixes. Thus, the KKR opener has scored only 22 runs in singles and doubles. He has faced 106 balls out of which 39 have been boundaries which implies that those 22 runs have come off a whopping 67 balls.
Thus, for Narine, the rules are pretty simple. Wait for the opportunity and then go hard. Otherwise, simply hang in there.
By smashing the fastest fifty in IPL, Narine has proved that his success with the bat is no fluke. With Chris Lynn back in the team, KKR’s opening pair is probably the most dangerous in the IPL and teams will have to come up with something special to stop them.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
