NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine achieved a significant milestone during his team's clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens.
Surpassing Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga, who has 170 wickets playing for Mumbai Indians, Narine now holds the record for the most wickets by a player for a single team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Though Narine contributed just 10 runs with the bat in the match, he made a notable impact with the ball. His figures of 2/34 in four overs, including crucial dismissals of Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror, played a pivotal role in KKR's thrilling 1-run victory.
With this achievement, Narine's tally stands at 172 wickets in 169 matches, boasting an impressive average of 25.59 and a strike rate of 22.75, with a career-best performance of 5/19. His stellar performance places him as the sixth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history.
As far as most wickets for a single franchise are concerned: Jasprit Bumrah (158 scalps for Mumbai Indians), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (150 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Dwayne Bravo (140 wickets for Chennai Super Kings) are also a part of this list.
Notably, Narine's resurgence in this year's IPL, under the mentorship of former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, has been remarkable. In seven matches, he has amassed 286 runs at an average of 40.85 and a strike rate exceeding 176, including a century and a fifty. Additionally, he has also claimed nine wickets with the best figures of 2/30, reaffirming his prowess as a valuable asset for KKR.
With this win, KKR moved up to the second spot with five wins and two losses, giving them 10 points. RCB stayed at the bottom of the table with a win and seven losses, aggregating just two points.
(With ANI inputs)
