IPL 2024 | "He gave me the confidence and assurance": Narine credits Gambhir for his century

Sunil Narine during his 56-ball 109 against RR on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Rajasthan Royals (RR) won a thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday night thanks to opener Jos Buttler's unbeaten 60-ball 107, but it's difficult to forget KKR opener Sunil Narine's maiden IPL century in the first innings that set the tone for the match.

The West Indian made 109 off 56 deliveries to help KKR post a mammoth 223-6 in an innings that saw little contribution from others. Narine hammered six sixes and 13 fours, becoming only the third KKR batter after Brendon McCullum and Venkatesh Iyer to score an IPL century.

The bowling all-rounder also returned figures of 2-30 in the second innings, claiming the wickets of India's Dhruv Jurel and fellow West Indian Rovman Powel (13-ball 26, 1x4, 3x6) just as he was threatening to cut loose.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Here's how Jos stayed and dominated the KKR bowlers at Eden Gardens

This isn't the first time Narine has made an impact on a match this season. He scored an impressive 85 and 47 against Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively, both in winning causes. He claimed a wicket on each occasion as well. He has scored an impressive 276 runs in six games so far in IPL-17.

It is learnt that Narine, 35, was asked to open the innings by team mentor Gautam Gambhir and head coach Chandrakant Pandit. They have given him the assurance that even if he fails, he will not be asked to sit out. Extra practice sessions were also organised to ease him into the position. Narine is not just an opener, but also plays the role of a pinch hitter due to his ultra-aggressive approach from the get-go.

Since Narine is a left-handed batsman, he pairs well with Phil Salt to provide a left-right combination for KKR at the top. The veteran has become KKR's trump card and is enjoying the role thoroughly.

"GG coming back, he gave me the confidence and assurance that I can open the batting and do a good job," Sunil Narine said after his century against RR on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Gambhir posted a picture on social media platform X of Narine raising his bat after reaching his century, and captioned it: "There was, there is, there will be…only one!"