Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 16 : With his explosive maiden T20 century against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine has said that team mentor gave him confidence and assurance that he would open the batting.
Narine's rich run of form continued as he slammed his maiden T20 century. Fine cameos from Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh helped KKR reach 223/6 against RR at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.
"I would have taken it as a joke (running in contention for Orange Cap) because I had not opened in a long time. With GG (Gautam Gambhir) coming back, he gave me the confidence and assurance that I will open. I want to give the team a good start in as many of the 14 innings. My job is just to give the team a good start and then keep going. We have an understanding that the pitch would not be easy to bowl on, we will try to get early wickets in the powerplay and try to restrict them," Narine told broadcasters after the innings.
Narine is the third-highest run-getter in the IPL so far. In six matches, he has scored 276 runs at an average of 46.00 and a strike rate of 187.75. He has scored a century and fifty this season, with the best score of 109. With 361 runs in seven matches, Virat Kohli from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is the top run getter.
In 168 matches for KKR, Narine has scored 1,322 runs at an average of 16.12, with a century and five fifties. His strike rate is 164.84.
Coming to the match, RR opted to bowl first after winning the toss. After losing Phil Salt (10) early, Narine had an 85-run stand with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30 in 18 balls, with five fours) which got them back in the game. Narine smashed 109 in 56 balls, with 13 fours and six sixes. Fine finishing from Rinku Singh (20* in nine balls, with a four and two sixes) took KKR to 223/6 in their 20 overs.
Avesh Khan (2/35) and Kuldip Sen (2/46) were the top bowlers for RR.