IPL 2020: KKR vs CSK – Game Plan 1 – Sunil Narine’s Chance for Redemption with the Ball

KKR vs CSK – The twenty-first match of the IPL 2020 tournament between the teams, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, could all be about match-ups. We take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the twenty-first game of the IPL – KKR vs CSK KKR vs CSK […]
 
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IPL 2020: KKR vs CSK – Game Plan 1 – Sunil Narine’s Chance for Redemption with the Ball

KKR vs CSK – The twenty-first match of the IPL 2020 tournament between the teams, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, could all be about match-ups. We take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the twenty-first game of the IPL – KKR vs CSK

KKR vs CSK – The Narine factor

Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings; two of the most successful franchises in the IPL, known for their managements which back their players in the toughest of times, are ready to battle it out at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. There are players from both sides who have been backbones for their sides in the past but not at their prime this season. One such player is Sunil Narine, who is having a forgettable outing this season, both with the ball as well as the bat.

 

Narine’s effectiveness with the ball has reduced significantly ever since he had to tweak his action. Both his economy and strike rate got affected, but his numbers still remained very impressive. However, this season he has neither been able to contain the opposition batsmen nor been able to get the breakthroughs. Narine has an economy of 8.50 in the 4 games so far, which is 1.83 more than his economy in the IPL till the start of this season. His strike rate this season has been 42.00, which means he has taken 21.04 balls more to pick a wicket this season than he has done in his entire IPL career.

IPL 2020: KKR vs CSK – Game Plan 1 – Sunil Narine’s Chance for Redemption with the Ball

KKR vs CSK Game Plan – The Narine factor

However, if there is one team against which Narine will fancy his chances of getting back to form, it has to be Chennai Super Kings. He has picked 1.17 wickets per innings against the men in yellow with an economy of 5.68 in his IPL career. Let us look at how he has bowled against the current CSK batsmen in recent years:

IPL 2020: KKR vs CSK – Game Plan 1 – Sunil Narine’s Chance for Redemption with the Ball

 

Quite clearly, Narine has been able to get the better of the CSK batsmen in recent times. Against the CSK top 7, Narine has a combined economy of 6.79 and a strike rate of 16.60 since 2017. He has particularly troubled MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu, CSK’s middle order mainstays, in the middle overs. With the CSK middle order a bit out of touch this season, taking more time to settle than usual, Narine cannot ask for a better opportunity to get his groove back.

KKR vs CSK – Game Plan 2 – CSK middle overs and Game Plan 3 – Russell vs CSK death bowlers

For CSK, they would want to take advantage of Narine’s lack of form and play more positively than they have done before. Looking to just play him out might prove to be counter-productive as it might just let Narine get his confidence back.