Varun Chakravarthy on his partnership with Sunil Narine

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 31 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine has been one of the most formidable partnerships in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Over the years, the two have developed an innate understanding, making them a key weapon in KKR’s bowling arsenal.

Speaking about his bond with Narine, Varun acknowledged the veteran spinner’s influence on his growth at KKR.

“Now that I’ve played five years alongside him–this is my sixth year with him–we don’t need to communicate as much anymore. He doesn’t have to spoon-feed me. Whatever I can learn, I can just observe what he is doing. Of course, if I have doubts, I always go up to him and talk to him. We have always bowled well in tandem, and he has been the most valuable player in T20 cricket from the very beginning. Even this year, he will be the MVP,” Varun said on JioHotstar’s special show Gen Bold.

Varun was instrumental in KKR’s previous outing against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), finishing with impressive figures of 2/17. As KKR gears up for their next match against Mumbai Indians on Monday, the duo will once again be crucial in their team’s quest for victory.

KKR, in their last game, batters Moeen Ali and Quinton de Kock came out in the middle to open the innings for the defending champions. Both batters went on to score 40 runs in the powerplay. After the end of 6 overs, Moeen Ali (4*) and Quinton de Kock (34*) were unbeaten on the crease.

In the seventh over at the score of 41, the Kolkata-based franchise lost their opening wicket as Moeen Ali (5 runs off 12 balls) was sent back to the pavilion through a runout.

The defending champions reached the 50-run mark in the eighth over when Ajinkya Rahane took a single off the bowling of leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.In the 11th over, KKR lost their second wicket when skipper Rahane (18 runs from 15 balls) was sent back to the dressing room by Hasaranga’s bowling.

De Kock completed his half-century on the penultimate ball of the 11th over as he slammed a six on the bowling of Hasaranga.

The Ajinkya Rahane-led side completed the 100-run mark on the fourth ball of the 13th over as the left-hand batter took a single on the bowl of Hasaranga.

The southpaw finished off the match with a six in the 18th over of the innings. The wicketkeeper-batter (97* runs off 61 balls) remained unbeaten at the end, along with Angrish Raghuvanshi (22* runs from 17 balls).

For Rajasthan Royals, one wicket was snapped by a leg spinner in his three overs where he conceded 34 runs, whereas the other wicket came through a runout.

Earlier in the day, the Knight Riders restricted the Royals at 151/9 in their 20 overs with Tushar Deshpande (2*) and Maheesh Theekshana (1*) unbeaten on the crease.

Speaking of the first innings, KKR made an early breakthrough as Vaibhav Arora dismissed Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson for just 13, setting the stage for a disciplined bowling display. Yashasvi Jaiswal and stand-in captain Riyan Parag attempted to rebuild with a 34-run partnership, but in-form Varun Chakravarthy provided the breakthrough, dismissing Parag for 25.

Jaiswal followed soon after, falling for 29 to Moeen Ali, who replaced Sunil Narine in the playing XI after Narine was ruled out due to illness.

The Royals continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Wanindu Hasaranga managed only 4 runs before becoming Chakravarthy’s second victim. With RR struggling at 76/4 in 9.5 overs, KKR tightened their grip on the game.

Former KKR batter Nitish Rana couldn’t make an impact against his old team, getting bowled by Moeen Ali for just 8.

RR reached the 100-run mark in 13.2 overs, but their batting struggles persisted. Shubham Dubey, brought in as an impact player, failed to make a difference, scoring only 9 off 12 balls.

Dhruv Jurel showed some resistance, scoring 33, but Harshit Rana eventually cleaned him up. Shimron Hetmyer also failed to get going, managing just 7 before falling to Rana, who picked up his second wicket.

The final blow came when Jofra Archer was bowled by Spencer Johnson for 16, as RR finished with a modest total of 151/9 in their 20 overs.

KKR’s bowling unit delivered a disciplined performance, with each bowler chipping in with at least one wicket. Chakravarthy was the most economical, finishing with figures of 2/17, while Moeen Ali claimed 2/23. Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora also took two wickets each, while Spencer Johnson picked up one. (ANI)