No Way to Tackle Sunil Narine’: Rayudu Explains KKR Spinner’s Greatness in MI Team Meeting

No Way to Tackle Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine once again repaid the faith shown in him by Kolkata Knight Riders as he single-handedly led them to a much-needed win over Delhi. Narine got KKR off to a rollicking start and then was the star of the show with the ball as well. He picked up three crucial wickets to turn the tide in favour of KKR, and to be honest, Narine has been doing exactly this for over a decade now.

Three defeats, each from winnable positions, and only one victory, via a last-minute Super Over finish, in New Delhi, have exposed more than a few problems for this side. Despite a potent spin attack, their batters themselves struggle to unleash in the middle overs against spin.

KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom started the tournament expertly but have now tailed off at the worst point in time. And their pacers are failing to contain the runs at important junctures. All this has combined to make them struggle at the Kotla.

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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.

The @KKRiders pulled back things in a fitting way ????

And it was all fueled by the brilliance of Sunil Narine ????

Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/saNudbWaXT #TATAIPL | #DCvKKR pic.twitter.com/zp5CDNEJsw

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 29, 2025

"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.

Narine has taken 31 wickets in 26 matches against MI at an economy rate of 6.65.

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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.

Yes, Kolkata can still make it through to the playoffs, but for that to happen, they would have to win all their matches from here on in. The Knights take on Rajasthan in their next fixture on May 5.

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