Sunil Narine takes over as Kolkata Knight Riders captain after Ajinkya Rahane's injury, wins match vs DC alone

Sunil Narine took over as the Kolkata Knight Riders captain in the middle of the Delhi Capitals' run chase on Tuesday, almost silently. Most things with Narine generally happen without much fuss. It's as if even the fast-paced T20 cricket goes into slow motion around him. In the first ball of the 12th over in DC's chase, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane hurt his hand while trying to stop a booming shot from Faf du Plessis. He was immediately off the field. Bowler Andre Russell had also overstepped, so the next ball was supposed to be a free hit but KKR were allowed to change the field as du Plessis was off strike. Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine celebrates with Ajinkya Rahane (REUTERS)

Amid all this, Narine stepped up to lead KKR in Rahane's absence. He is not much of a talker but after representing the franchise for 15 years in the IPL, he knows a thing or two about being a leader and he brought all of those attributes into play in staging KKR's comeback.

Narine's first major decision was to bring Varun Chakaravarthy back into the attack. He had given away 22 runs without a wicket in his first two overs but Narine realised if KKR had to win, Chakaravarthy and he bowling in tandem was their best bet. The Indian leg-spinner gave away nine runs in the 13th over. DC were 130/3 in 13 overs, needing 75 more runs to win in the remaining 42 balls with captain Axar Patel (37*) and Faf du Plessis (59*) stitching a match-changing partnership.

Narine brought himself back from he other end. Axar was hellbent on proving Narine's decision wrong by hitting the experienced spinner for a six off the first ball of the 14th over but the KKR skipper for the night turned the tables. He changed the angle and induced a false shot from Axar, who was struggling with an injured hand. Harshit Rana took a sharp catch at extra cover. It was the fourth time Narine dismissed Axar in the IPL.

With Axar's (43 off 23) dismissal, the great DC collapse started, orchestrated by Narine. Tristian Stubbs was the next to go on the last ball of that over. The DC batter played all around a Narine off-spinner and lost his stumps. Narine picked up two wickets for 8 runs in that over and turned the match on its head. Before the 14th over, KKR's win percentage was 45. After it, it rose to 72.

Narine kept an over of Chakaravarthy but decided to bowl himself out. Another decision that bore rich fruits for the defending champions as Narine got rid of du Plessis on the first ball of the 16th over. He conceded just two runs in that over to finish with match-winning figures of 3 for 29.

Chakaravarthy then sealed DC's fate by picking up two wickets in the 18th over. KKR won by 14 runs to remain in the hunt for the playoffs.

Sunil Narine always a leader: Andre Russell

After the match, Andre Russell said Narine's decision to bring himself back into the attack changed the match's complexion.

"Bringing himself (Narine) back was crucial at that (14th over) time, he got big wickets in that over, that's where we started believing in ourselves. Varun had one over at the back-end where he picked two wickets. It shows we have a good unit. We have bowlers to defend such totals. Narine is very active on the field. A lot of guys misjudge him. In the park, he is a leader. He has been more talkative over the last five years. He enjoys his performance and that is quite evident on the field," Russell told the broadcasters.

"I still back myself to come back and deliver for the team. There are games when you start well and struggle and then there are games that you don't begin well and end well," said Narine.

With a heavily tapped hand, Ajinkya Rahane said the injury was not too serious. "Not bad. I will be okay. I will be fine," he said. He knew KKR was in safe hands with players like Narine in the squad.

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