IPL: Players who have batted at surprising batting positions

Sunil Narine - Opener

Sunil Narine has become one of the deadliest all-rounders in the shortest format of the game

Chris Lynn succumbed to his persistent shoulder injury against the Mumbai Indians in April 2017. This left the Knight Riders with a vacant opening slot in their next game, which was against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. To everyone's surprise, it was ace spinner Sunil Narine who strode out to the crease to open the innings along with Gautam Gambhir. Narine has been one of the sensations with the ball in the IPL but his skills with the bat were yet to be unveiled.

Chasing a tricky 171, Narine smashed 37 runs off just 18 balls to make the chase easier for the Knight Riders. Narine went on to amass 224 runs in IPL 2017 at an astonishing strike rate of over 170. This included a 15-ball half-century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, which is the joint record for fastest fifty in IPL history!