Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine

IPL: Narine stars in Kolkata victory


Sunil Narine savaged the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history off 15 balls as Kolkata outshone Bangalore's star-studded batting line-up to win by six wickets.

IPL scores (Bangalore)


Kolkata Knight Riders won by 6 wickets 

RCB 158/6 (20/20 overs. Singh 52, Head 75*; Yadav 3-36, Narine 2-29)

Kolkata Knight Riders 159/4 (15.1/20 overs. Narine 54, Lynn 50; Negi 2-21)

Match report


Sunil Narine savaged the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history off 15 balls as Kolkata outshone Bangalore's star-studded batting line-up to win by six wickets with 29 balls in hand.

Pinch-hitter Narine's sequence of 0-0-4-1-6-6-6-4-2-1-2-4-4-4-6 ensured that he matched Yusuf Pathan's blistering knock off as many deliveries, also made for Kolkata, in 2014.

Remarkably the West Indian failed to score of the first two balls he faced but got firmly into his stride with three successive maximums off compatriot Samuel Badree, helping himself to 25 off the spinner's second over.

Three fours in a row in the following over off Sreenath Aravind took him to within one blow of a half-century, which he reached by despatching the seamer over long on before raising his arm in triumph and receiving a celebratory hug from fellow opener Chris Lynn.

By the time Narine top-edged Choudhary behind to depart for 54 off 17 balls, Lynn was within sight of his own half-century which was only a fraction slower off 21 balls.

Together, the pair pillaged 105 runs off the six-over Powerplay after Bangalore had struggled to 158-6 following the departure of Chris Gayle, dismissed for a first-ball duck by Umesh Yadav in his 100th IPL knock.

Virat Kohli (five) and AB de Villiers (10) fared little better, leaving Travis Head (75no off 47 balls) and Mandeep Singh (52) to provide the star turns the superstars couldn't deliver.

England's Chris Woakes played his part, claiming the wicket of Kedar Jadhav as he returned 1-39 off his full allocation.

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