3 hours Ago
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu said the Mumbai Indians gave up on the idea of getting the better of Sunil Narine and decided in the team meeting that the only way to tackle the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner was to see him off completely. Rayudu's comments came after Narine completely turned the DC vs KKR IPL 2025 match on its head by dismissing DC captain Axar Patel and Tristian Stubbs in the same over at the Arun Jaitely Stadium on Tuesday. Rayudu, who has played eight seasons for MI between 2010 and 2017, representing the five-time champion for 136 matches, said Narine was always a thorn in their flesh.
"We have had team meetings on how to tackle Narine when I was with MI for quite a few years, leading up to us deciding 'No, let's put the shutters down, see him off. There's no way we are getting to him'. He has been a thorn in MI's middle order for a long time, Rayudu said on ESPNCricinfo.
Narine has taken 31 wickets in 26 matches against MI at an economy rate of 6.65. The KKR veteran was at his very best against DC.
The hosts had their noses in front at 130/3, needing 75 runs in 42 balls with set batters Axar Patel and Faf du Plessis in the middle. Narine, who was captaining the side in place of injured Ajinkya Rahane, brought himself back into the attack and got two wickets in the 14th over to spark a collapse. In the next over, Narine dismissed du Plessis to derail DC's chase completely.
Rayudu said Narine is among the few bowlers who can dismantle the opposition's middle order. "He's been doing that for a long time in the IPL. It is n ot the first time we have seen him do things like this in the middle overs.
He completely dismantles the opposition's batting, and very few bowlers have had that power over any batting unit in the middle overs. KKR retained him for this reason. He knows exactly what to bowl, when, and stay calm under pressure," he added.
Former West Indies opener Daren Ganga, who shared the dressing room with a young Sunil Narine during his early days at Trinidad, said Narine always builds up the pressure. "We started playing with him knowing that the opposition would have 16-17 overs to bat which was strictly based on economy. His penetration was not that good in the previous years but if he's not getting tickets, he always creates that pressure from the other end.
Narine is real money in T20 cricket," Ganga said..
