IPL: Will Bhuvneshwar Kumar cease Narine threat in Qualifier 1?
What's the story
Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns in the IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad.
The stakes will be high as the winner of Qualifier 1 will advance to the final straightaway.
KKR would once again pin their hopes on Sunil Narine, who has been giving them thunderous starts this season.
However, SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar can stop him early on.
Battle
Narine vs Bhuvneshwar
KKR all-rounder Narine has been a menace in the powerplay overs this year. As per ESPNcricinfo, his strike rate in this phase goes past 170.
However, Narine has been troubled by Bhuvneshwar in the past.
The SRH pacer has dismissed the West Indies dasher twice in just 25 balls in the IPL. The latter's strike-rate plunges to 112 in this battle.
Information
Narine's overall T20 strike rate against Bhuvneshwar
Bhuvneshwar has managed to choke Narine even more in overall T20 cricket. The latter's strike-rate in this regard comes down to 106.66. Of the 30 balls bowled by Bhuvi to Narine, 17 have been dot.
Form
Narine's astonishing form in IPL 2024
Although Bhuvneshwar has been all over Narine, the KKR opener's current batting form could terrify any bowler.
He has hammered 32 sixes, the most by a KKR batter in IPL 2024 by a fair distance.
Moreover, the ongoing season also saw Narine's maiden century in T20 cricket.
Narine has 461 runs from 13 games at an incredible strike-rate of 182.93 this season.
Bhuvneshwar
Can Bhuvi stop Narine?
On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar hasn't been as effective with the ball. He has just 11 wickets in 13 games. However, he has shown glimpses of his class sporadically.
The right-arm pacer can certainly jeopardize Narine in the Powerplay with his swing.
While Narine has been smacking everything that comes around, short deliveries and yorkers perturb him.