While West Indies international team is struggling to win their first game on the ongoing India tour, all-rounder Sunil Narine is showing his mettle in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2022 which is nearing its completion. Narine did what he used to for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and took the game away from the opposition in the powerplay overs itself with a scintillating 13-ball half-century.
Opening the innings for Comilla Victorians, the wicket of his partner Liton Das off the first over of the run chase did not have any effect on him. Narine played his natural destructive game and scored the joint-second fastest half-century in the history of the game. The left-handed batter was most destructive in the second over as he hit spinner Mehidy Hasan for 23 runs including three sixes and one four.
The Caribbean all-rounder scored 57 runs from 16 deliveries including five fours and six sixes. He batted at a strike rate of 356.25 but lost his wicket to Mrittunjoy Chowdhury in the last over of the powerplay overs. However, he did his job by bringing the required run rate below six runs per over as Victorians had 79 runs on the board after 5.4 overs.
He was one ball shy from joining Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and Hazratullah Zazai, who have reached the fifty-run mark off just 12 deliveries in the format. He also equalled former England opener Marcus Trescothick on the list.
After Narine’s whirlwind knock, Victorians made short work of the run chase as Faf du Plessis and Moeen Ali remained unbeaten for 23-ball 30 and 13-ball 30 respectively. The Imrul Kayes-led side finished the run chase with 43 balls to spare.
“No, when I was told I'd open, I was delighted, especially with just 2 fielders outside the ring. It was a good wicket to bat on, not much spin, especially with the new ball, came on nicely. Was one of the best performances as a team, looking forward to the final,” the 33-year-old said in the post-match presentation.
After a big win against Chattogram Challengers, Victorians will take on Fortune Barishal on February 18 at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.
