Top 5 Sunil Narine spells in international cricket

Sunil Narine announced his retirement from international cricket on November 5. The 35-year-old will still continue playing franchise cricket around the world but will not don the West Indian jersey for the remainder of his professional career.

Narine burst onto the scene during the 2011 Champions League T20 while playing for Trinidad and Tobago. He played a prominent role in the West Indies' 2012 T20 World Cup victory and became a household name in franchise cricket.

His exploits for the Kolkata Knight Riders, especially from 2012 to 2014, have earned him status among IPL greats.

Sunil Narine made his retirement announcement via an Instagram post:

Overall, the mystery spinner picked up 165 wickets in 122 matches across all formats during his eight-year career for the national team.

In this article, we'll look at Sunil Narine's top five spells in international cricket.

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#5 3/28 vs Zimbabwe (ODI)

Sunil Narine picked up three wickets for the concession of 28 runs in the 1st ODI against Zimbabwe in February of 2013. Johnson Charles (130) and Darren Bravo (100*) had taken the West Indies to a more than sufficient total of 337/4.

Narine bowled four maiden overs in the second innings, which is why this spell stands out. Although the West Indies won comfortably, picking up three wickets and bowling four maidens is not something that happens often in ODI cricket.

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#4 4/12 vs New Zealand (T20I)

Although Sunil Narine is renowned for being a world-class bowler in the T20 format of the game, his best T20I spell only ranks fourth among his best spells in international cricket. The West Indies posted a total of 177/5 in the first innings against New Zealand in Lauderhill in 2013.

In response, the Kiwis could only manage 116 runs before getting all out. Narine dismissed both the openers, Martin Guptill and Rob Nicol, in the fifth over. He also picked up the wickets of Dean Brownlie and Andrew Ellis later on to finish with 4/12 in his full quota of overs.

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#3 5/27 vs New Zealand (ODI)

Sunil Narine performed another masterclass against New Zealand in the same series just a couple of weeks later. Batting first, the West Indies registered a decent total of 241/9, courtesy of half centuries from Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell.

The off-spinner picked up the crucial wickets of Guptill, Brendon McCullum, and Kane Williamson, before clean-bowling Ellis and Kyle Mills in his last over. He picked up a fifer and conceded just 27 runs. Narine was not only awarded Man of the Match but also bagged the Man of the Series award for 13 wickets in five matches.

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#2 6/91 vs New Zealand (Test)

Completing the trifecta of a match-winning spell against New Zealand in all three formats of the game, Narine's best Test performance came against the Kiwis later on in 2013. He picked up six wickets in the third Test at Hamilton in the West Indies tour of New Zealand.

Peter Fulton, Williamson, McCullum, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, and Neil Wagner were scalped by the wily spinner in the Kiwis' first innings. The West Indies, however, lost the match by eight wickets, as Ross Taylor was adjudged Man of the Match for his 131.

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#1 6/27 vs South Africa (ODI)

Sunil Narine's best bowling performance in international cricket came against South Africa at Providence in 2016. Narine picked up the important wickets of Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw before tearing through the lower middle order of the Proteas.

The magical spell of 6/27 meant that the West Indies had a target of just 189 runs. Keiron Pollard's unbeaten 67, along with some decent contributions from Johnson Charles and Darren Bravo, saw the Caribbean nation win the match by four wickets.