NEW DELHI, India, CMC – Brutal half-centuries from Sunil Narine and Dwayne Smith set up Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions respectively, for memorable wins in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
Narine demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore to equal the record for the fastest 50 in the IPL, reaching the landmark in 15 balls, to propel KKR to a six-wicket victory, the same margin for the Lions after Smith brutalised the Kings XI Punjab bowling to top Hashim Amla’s second hundred of the tournament.
For KKR, the result meant that they are now second in the standings on 16 points from 12 matches – two behind Mumbai Indians, who have a game in hand – leaving the once glamourous RCB firmly rooted on the bottom on five points with one more match to play and no chance of a playoff berth.
For the Lions, they are sixth on eight points – two behind the fifth-placed Kings XI – with both teams out of contention for a place in the playoffs.
The left-handed Narine, again opening the batting, smashed six fours and four sixes in the top score of 54 from just 17 balls and Australian Chris Lynn, on his return from injury, added an even 50 from only 22 balls, as KKR made light work of a target of 159 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
The KKR opening pair were primarily responsible for a World record highest score in the Power Play of 105 from 36 balls, as the visitors crossed the finish line with 29 balls remaining.
Narine reserved special treatment for his Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies teammate Samuel Badree, after starting with an outside edge that cleared short third man off the same bowler.
He belted the leg-spinner for three consecutive sixes and then a four in his second over that cost 25 and followed up more off left-arm medium-fast bowler Sreenath Aravind’s first over which included four fours and a six over long-on that put him alongside Yusuf Pathan for the fastest IPL 50.
Earlier, the struggling RCB outfit had to depend on an unbeaten 75 from Travis Head and 52 from opener Mandeep Singh to give them a respectable total of 158 for six from their 20 overs, after they were put in to bat.
Batting stars Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and A.B. de Villiers between them could only muster 15 runs – the second time they had recorded their lowest aggregate in a match in two weeks – and once more against the Knight Riders.
Gayle fell for a golden duck in his 100th IPL match, caught at short cover off Umesh Yadav from the first-ball of the match, Kohli slogged across the line to a leg-cutter from the same bowler in the third over and De Villiers was bowled sweeping at a knuckle ball from Narine in the fifth over.
RCB were 34 for three, but Head and Singh put together a fourth-wicket stand of 71 from 63 balls that revitalised the innings, so that the home team could scour 43 from the last three overs to make a fight of it.
Smith smashed 74 from 39 balls, his first 50 of the tournament, to lead the Lions’ chase of 190 and dent the playoff hopes of the Kings XI at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
He shared an opening stand of 91 with Ishan Kishan and gave the Lions’ innings such a rapid start that when he was dismissed in the 12th over, they only needed 70 from 52 balls.
Skipper Suresh Raina made 39 and Dinesh Karthik was not out on 35 to keep them on track for a morale-boosting win which came in a nervy final over and condemned the Kings XI to their sixth defeat in 11 matches.
KXP’s total of 189 for three from 20 overs, after they were put in to bat, was built upon Amla’s 104 from 60 balls which included eight fours and five sixes.
The bearded South African batting wonder became only the third batsman to score two hundreds in an IPL season and shared 125 for the second wicket with Australian Shaun Marsh, whose 58 off 43 balls included six fours.
