There is no denying the fact that every legend in a sport succumbs to someone and that person haunts them throughout their career despite all the other unprecedented achievements. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner, Sunil Narine has proven to be that thorn for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stalwart, Virat Kohli, and the spinner struck against the talisman once again on Thursday with a potential ball of the season.
RCB failed to make the most of the brilliant start to their chase of 205 against KKR at the Eden Gardens by losing two quick wickets in the powerplay. The duo of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli came out all guns blazing and took the team to 42/0 in 4 overs. The annihilation of his pacers forced skipper Nitish Rana to bring Sunil Narine into the attack early and the Caribbean mystery spinner did not disappoint.
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Sunil Narine managed to get the better of his counterpart once again in a battle that would be remembered for a long time to come. Bowling from over the wicket, the veteran offie started off with a ball outside off without any damage. Kohli managed to take a single on the next delivery with a clip towards the leg side only to be back facing Narine a ball later.
The former Indian skipper failed to punish a loose delivery on his pads on the fourth ball and immediately paid for it. Narine pitched a ball at length, luring the 34-year-old forward to aim to smash the ball in the gap towards midwicket only for the Kookaburra to spin sharply and completely bamboozle Kohli.
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The ball eventually managed to find its way perfectly through the slight gap between bat and pad and struck the stumps with aplomb, leaving Virat Kohli in a state of shock at the crease. This was the fourth time Kohli fell to Narine in the IPL, managing just 102 runs against the spinner in as many balls in the process.
Here is the video of the dismissal of Virat Kohli:
The Twiteratti was quick to label the batter as Narine’s ‘bunny’ and took to social media to shower praise on the peach of a delivery.
Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine in IPL since 2021:
Balls faced: 8
Runs scored: 3
Dismissals: 2#IPL2023 | #KKRvRCB pic.twitter.com/qkNTDsOag6— Azan Ahmad (@azanahmad257) April 6, 2023
Sunil Narine is the greatest spinner to have played IPL🔥
We own HAARCB and Chokli
— . (@iSRKzYash) April 6, 2023
#KKRvRCB #sunilnarine#ViratKohli#faf #varunchakravarthy#TATAIPL #EdenGardens
KKR spinners today pic.twitter.com/2nHXaapCJV
— Witty Doc (@humourdoctor) April 6, 2023
Sunil Narine dismissed Virat Kohli
Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Faf Du Plessis
Both the RCB openers are back to the pavillion #KKRvRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/fCGrfCcTYf
— Rajendra dudi (@rajendra_dudi) April 6, 2023
Common knowledge #sunilnarine #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/zJ5Os3vbC8
— SRK's MAX🦅 (@iSRKzMax90) April 6, 2023
Sunil Narine keeps kohli in his Pocket😂💜#KKRvRCB #AmiKKR #TATAIPL2023 #SunilNarine pic.twitter.com/0ejySHBBY2
— Akky Gaming (@akkyIsHere913) April 6, 2023
