Sunil Narine's effortless boundary save left KKR pacer Umesh Yadav and even LSG batter Quinton de Kock grinning in the moment.
After becoming a laughing stock for his fielding earlier in IPL 2022, Sunil Narine made some nice amends via an effortless boundary save down the leg side in Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) must-win league stage encounter on Wednesday (May 18).
Fielding at the deep fine-leg region, Narine made an ice-cool save after a flick from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) opening batter Quinton de Kock threatened to bounce over the ropes for what seemed a certain boundary.
Denying De Kock with an amusingly unruffled take of the ball, Narine seamlessly turned from his position and made a usual throw back towards the playing arena and started walking back to the original fielding mark as if nothing had just happened.
Only the perpetually calm and unemotive Sunil Narine could’ve pulled this off. Seeing him walk back to his original position after a robot-like fielding take, KKR pacer Umesh Yadav offered a beaming smile at his teammate and even De Kock couldn’t help but smirk in the moment.
Sunil Narine’s amusing boundary save leaves Umesh, De Kock amused
The incident happened after the second ball of the 14th in LSG’s first-innings batting effort. Batting past fifty, De Kock was in rampaging form on the night and found another ideal delivery to be dispatched for a boundary down leg side form Umesh.
Smashing a short-ball to the deep fine-leg region, De Kock looked sure of a boundary, especially as one of KKR’s slowest fielders Sunil Narine was trying to get around the ball and protect the ropes.
Watch: Quinton de Kock plays a reverse flick off Sunil Narine; leaves LSG dugout impressed
But, much to everyone’s surprise, Narine not only sprinted across the ball on time but made a clean grab to keep the damage down to just a solitary run, evoking a wry smile for Umesh the bowler and even De Kock, who was seen smirking at the effortless nature of the fielding act.
— Ruturaj (@RuturajRulez) May 18, 2022
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Earlier in IPL 2022, Sunil Narine had received flak from the crowd for an insipid effort at protecting a similar boundary behind square off the wicket. Thus, the West Indies cricketer would’ve been pleased to have responded to his naysayers well, although even then he showed absolutely no emotions on his face.
