The Kolkata Knight Riders bought Sunil Narine the bowler in 2012, marking the start of his IPL career. But who knew that a young bowler then would go on to score a hundred for the KKR 12 years later.
The Knight from Trinidad tamed Rajasthan Royals' bowlers on Tuesday as he smashed his maiden hundred in not just the IPL but also the first one in his entire T20 career.
It is vintage Narine that has taken the IPL by storm this year. He averaged a mere 3, 8.9 and 7.8 in the last 3 seasons and was also not the preferred opener last season.
However, with the return of Gautam Gambhir, Narine once again opened in IPL 2024 and has already scored 276 runs at an average of 46 in 6 innings. His strike rate of 187.7 is also the best among the top 6 batters this season.
The 35-year-old raced to his hundred off just 49 balls before being eventually dismissed for 109 against the Royals.
Interestingly, Narine is just the 3rd player after Rohit Sharma and Shane Watson in IPL history to have scored a hundred and to have also taken a hat-trick with the ball.