IPL 13: Sunil Narine is a key player for KKR, says Dinesh Karthik

CSK were 99 for 1 in 12 overs with Narine backed entirely for the death. The CSK batsmen stumbled against Narine in the latter half of the chase.

Abu Dhabi: Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik praised spinner Sunil Narine for his bowling performance against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday.

CSK were 99 for 1 in 12 overs with Narine backed entirely for the death. The CSK batsmen stumbled against Narine in the latter half of the chase.

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KKR defeated CSK by 10 runs on the back of bowlers’ incredible all-round performance. Karthik said that every team has a key player and Narine is the one for KKR.

“There are some key players for every team. Narine is one for us. Least we can do is back him. 2-3 poor games, doesn’t matter,” said Karthik during the post-match presentation via host broadcaster Star Sports.

KKR posted a total of 167 runs on the back of Rahul Tripathi’s heroics. Tripathi played a knock of 81 runs as he helped his side post a respectable target for the MS Dhoni-led side.

“Good to see Tripathi do the job at the top. The good thing about Russ (Russell) is he’s very versatile. He can bat slightly up, slightly down. Our batting is very fluid,” Karthik said.

“I started at three, today I batted at seven. The way those guys batted at the start, they batted very well. Back end I have a lot of trust in Sunil and Varun, paid off,” he added.
KKR will next lock horns with Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.