On his 36th birthday on May 26, former West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine received his third Indian Premier League (IPL) MVP award after his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise got a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Narine had miserly figures of one for 16 as SRH were bowled out for a meagre 113 inside 19 overs - taking his tally for the season to 17 wickets. Narine hit a six off his first ball before being dismissed by SRH captain Pat Cummins in the second over. However, KKR were not to be denied on their march toward a third IPL trophy, though, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (39 off 32 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (52 not out off 26 balls) demolished the opposition attack with a brutal 91-run stand as they help their team race to the 114-run target with 57 balls to spare.
Though Narine didn't get off with the bat in the final, he finished as KKR's top-scorer this season with 488 from 14 innings at an average of 34.85 as he played numerous thrilling knocks in a permanent role atop the order. Narine struck three fifties in the season, to go along with a brilliant 109 which he scored against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last month. It was Narine's maiden T20 century, and his fine form during the season even prompted calls for his return to the West Indies team for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) men's T20 World Cup - mainly from Windies captain and Rajasthan player Rovman Powell.
Narine's 488-run tally was 11 short of the 499 runs rattled off by his TT countryman Nicholas Pooran, while his 17-wicket feat was just two shy of the 19 scooped up by all-action allrounder Andre Russell who grabbed three for 19 in the final.
Last November, Narine retired from West Indies duty, but his last outing for the men in maroon came in 2019 in a T20 versus India.
Narine's MVP award for the 2024 season adds to his MVP crowns from the 2012 and 2018 seasons. In the 2012 season, Narine grabbed 24 wickets, while he also showed his allround ability in the 2018 season when scored 357 runs, to go along with 17 wickets.
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