Sunil Narine created history on March 29 as he became the first Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player to achieve the mighty milestone of featuring in 500 T20 matches. Sunil Narine achieved the sensational feat during KKR's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Narine's vast T20 experience extends far beyond the IPL. He has graced the pitches of various major leagues worldwide, including the Big Bash League (BBL), The Hundred, and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Heading into the match, Narine's impressive record for KKR already stood at 172 matches. He boasts a blistering strike rate of 158.46 with the bat, alongside a phenomenal bowling record of 182 wickets at an economy rate below seven. However, his expertise with the ball transcends his tenure with KKR, as we'll explore in the next paragraph.
Beyond his dominant presence in the IPL for KKR, Sunil Narine has established himself as a T20 globetrotter, leaving his mark on various leagues worldwide.
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Players with most T20 appearances
| S. No. | Player | Matches |
| 1 | Kieron Pollard | 660 |
| 2 | Dwayne Bravo | 570 |
| 3 | Shoaib Malik | 542 |
| 4 | Sunil Narine | 500 |
| 5 | Andre Russell | 484 |
Sunil Narine's impressive track record in T20s
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is another stage where Narine has flourished. Representing the Trinbago Knight Riders, a franchise connected to his IPL team, he has become a true CPL veteran. Across 79 matches, he's claimed a staggering 80 wickets, maintaining a remarkable economy rate below 6.
Narine's talents haven't gone unnoticed elsewhere. He's donned the jerseys of the Surrey Lions in the T20 Blast, picking up 34 wickets in 29 matches. Notably, his batting prowess also shone for the English club, reflected in his impressive strike rate of 161.45.
This just scratches the surface of Narine's T20 journey. Teams like Guyana Amazon Warriors, Melbourne Renegades, Oval Invincibles, and Dhaka Dynamites have all benefitted from his skills across various leagues. Over the years, he has consistently bamboozled batters with his mystery spin, making him a truly global T20 force. However, the ongoing IPL season hasn't quite seen Narine replicate his usual batting brilliance. The opening slot experiment by KKR management didn't yield immediate results in their first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Nevertheless, Narine displayed his bowling prowess, remaining economical (conceding only 19 runs) and even picking up a wicket.
Talking about the RCB versus KKR clash, Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field first.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):
Philip Salt(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Kolkata Knight Riders Subs: Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI):
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat(w), Dinesh Karthik, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Subs: Mahipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh
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