IPL 2021: "Thought of stopping Narine once, then realized he was in the zone" - KKR's Nitish Rana

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana has revealed he thought of stopping Sunil Narine when he was going all-out against Delhi Capitals (DC) speedster Kagiso Rabada. Rana added that he quickly realized Narine was ‘in the zone’ and hence let him carry on uninterrupted.

KKR had stumbled to 98 for 5 in a chase of 128 against DC on Tuesday in Match 41 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Sharjah. However, Narine (20 off 10) clattered Rabada for two sixes and a four in the 16th over, easing the path for KKR’s triumph.

Rana, who was at the non-striker’s end during Narine’s blitz, explained that once the West Indian timed a couple of balls cleanly, he knew that the unconventional batter could do the job.

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“This is rather funny. When he came in, we had a mid-pitch discussion. I said both of us can hit the big shots and so we can win this game. But he did not say anything and only nodded his head. I knew then that he was in his zone. After that, he took on one of the best death bowlers, Kagiso Rabada, and pulled it off," Rana said in an interaction with fellow KKR batter Venkatesh Iyer on IPLT20.COM.

The 27-year-old admitted that was briefly worried about Narine’s tactics but the fluency with which he batted cleared all doubts.

“I thought of stopping Narine once. But then, I realized that he was in the zone and let him continue. So I said to myself, if we could get 12-15 runs in the Rabada over, then why not do it. That’s exactly what Sunny (Narine) did and the game became very simple from there,” Rana stated.

While Narine was dismissed for 21, Rana stayed on till the end and guided KKR past the finish line, remaining unconquered on 36.

“Want to prove to the world that I can bat as well as bowl” - KKR’s rising start Venkatesh Iyer

Even as Narine and Rana starred with the bat, Venkatesh Iyer turned out to be the surprise package with the ball for KKR. Iyer, who had impressed with the willow in the previous two outings, claimed the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel with his medium pace, ending with 2 for 29 from his four overs.

“Yes, I am an all-rounder and I want to prove to the world that I can bat as well as bowl. When (Eoin) Morgan gave me the ball, I was only thinking about how I would bowl those first six balls. At the back of my mind, though, I knew I could bowl four overs,” a confident Iyer told Rana.

Apart from Iyer, Narine and Lockie Ferguson also claimed two wickets each as KKR restricted DC to 127 for 9. They chased down the target with 10 balls to spare and three wickets in hand.