IPL2024: Against RCB, Sunil Narine is expected to reach a significant personal milestone

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is off to a thrilling start this weekend as the 10th match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is scheduled for Friday, March 29. The two sides have played in some incredible games over the years, and this season will be no exception as the Chinnaswamy Stadium gets ready for the legendary meeting.

As for KKR spinner Sunil Narine, who will be playing in his 500th T20 match of this remarkable career, this game will have particular meaning for him. Narine is slated to play as many matches as Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Shoaib Malik combined, making him only the fourth player in history to do so. With an astounding 660 appearances in the game’s shortest format across all leagues and internationals, Pollard tops this chart.

Since making his T20 debut in 2011, Narine has had great success with both the ball and the bat. With 536 wickets taken thus far, he trails only Rashid Khan (566) and Dwayne Bravo (625) in this category. With an economy rate of 6.10, Narine ranks second among all players who have bowled over 2000 deliveries in a Twenty20 career. During his 197-match career, Samuel Badree had the greatest economy rate of 6.08. The off-spinner has also bowled the most maiden overs in men’s T20 cricket history, with 30 overs in his career to date.

When it comes to his exploits at bat, Sunil Narine has a strike rate of 155.05 in the shortest format during powerplay. In men’s T20 cricket, this strike rate ranks fourth among batsmen who have faced more than 1000 balls in the first six overs. The 35-year-old has also won 10 T20 cricket trophies to date, including one T20 World Cup in which he was surpassed only by Bravo (17), Pollard (16), and Malik (15).