Sunil Narine, the bowling all-rounder for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), surpassed Lasith Malinga to become the player with the highest number of wickets for a single team in IPL history during KKR’s match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens.
Despite scoring just 10 runs, Narine excelled with the ball, claiming 2/34 in four overs, which included crucial dismissals of Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror. This achievement places Narine as the sixth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history, with 172 wickets in 169 matches, surpassing Malinga’s record. Other notable players with significant wicket hauls for single franchises include Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Dwayne Bravo.
Under Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship, Narine is enjoying a remarkable IPL season, scoring 286 runs and claiming nine wickets in seven matches. In the match against RCB, KKR posted a formidable total of 222/6, with Phil Salt’s quickfire 48 setting the tone. Despite a valiant effort from RCB’s Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine’s spells turned the tide in KKR’s favor, securing a narrow victory by one run.
Russell was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ for his all-round performance. With this win, KKR moved to the second spot in the standings, while RCB remains at the bottom with just one win in seven matches.