The fire still burns for Narine and Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders' batting has been far from convincing this season. Heading into the game against Delhi Capitals, their opening partnership tally was the least among all teams, and the middle order fared no better, with the average of their Nos.4-8 being the lowest.

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However, they did step up against DC at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday (April 29), putting on a collective batting display to finish with 204. Even so, skipper Ajinkya Rahane felt they were 15 runs short. But their batting issues aside, KKR have remained afloat in the competition thanks to their bowling, especially their spin department.

At the end of Match 48 of IPL 2025, ended up with frugal figures of 1-20 before Narine stepped in and derailed CSK completely with his three-for, accounting for Rahul Tripathi, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni. Varun also bagged a couple of wickets in that game. A similar script unfolded against DC. Anukul Roy provided the early breakthrough before Narine took over in a multifaceted role - making an impact with the ball, in the field, and as stand-in captain, to wrest control of the game from the home side. Varun, meanwhile, chipped in with two wickets in this game too.

Despite losing a couple of wickets in the powerplay, DC picked up pace, with KL Rahul striking a four off Varun to help his side to 58/2 after six overs.

Narine's first impact on the field followed next. After Faf du Plessis played a flick to short fine, Rahul took off for a single but Narine was quick to the ball, quick to release it, and accurately too to effect an important run-out. But DC recovered from that blow quickly, with Axar Patel and Du Plesiss putting on a brisk 76-run partnership.