Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 6 : Following the defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) right-arm seamer Naveen-ul-Haq hailed Sunil Narine for his outstanding performance in the game.
KKR bowlers shined to beat LSG by 98 runs in the 54th match of the IPL 2024 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
With the massive win against the Lucknow-based franchise, KKR moved to the top of the table with 16 points and a net run rate of +1.453.
The fast bowler hailed the performance of Narine who scored 81 in 39 balls, with six fours and seven sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 207.69.
"We planned against Narine. We wanted to mix it up with bouncers and yorkers but nothing worked against him. It was quite a brilliant innings, to be honest. He was properly middling it. He has been doing it from the start of the season," Naveen said at the post-match press conference.
The 24-year-old player asserted that the pitch is one of the best to bat on in the ongoing 17th edition of the cash-rich league.
"The amount of games that we have played in Lucknow, I think this was the best wicket to bat on. We did not do the things in the chase that we did - say in the game at Chepauk, where the target was very high. It was not like bad or anything, there was nothing for the bowlers," the speedster added.
"Pressure is always there on whatever score you are chasing. Every team has a bad day, and we cannot keep focusing on that, we have to move on," the Afghanistan player concluded.
Summarizing the match, LSG opted to field first after winning the toss. Narine's 81, combined with solid knocks from Phil Salt (32 in 14 balls, with five fours and a six), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32 in 26 balls, with three fours and a six) and Ramandeep Singh (25* in six balls, with a four and three sixes) took KKR to 235/6 in their 20 overs.
Naveen-ul-Haq (3/49) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG. Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi and Yudhvir Singh got a wicket each.
In the run chase of 236, Lucknow lost wickets at regular intervals. Marcus Stoinis (36 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and skipper KL Rahul (25 in 21 balls, with three fours) were the top scorers as LSG bundled out for 137 in 16.1 overs.
Harshit Rana (3/24) and Varun Aaron (3/30) were the top wicket-takers for KKR.
KKR is at the top with eight wins, three losses and 16 points. LSG is at fifth with six wins, five losses and 12 points.
Sunil Narine took home the 'Player of the Match' for his one wicket and 81-run knock.