BENGALURU: Sunil Narine smashed the joint fastest IPL fifty in his sensational knock of 54 as Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed a hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to seal a Play-offs berth here today.
Narine (54 from 17 balls) reached his fifty in just 15 balls, the same number of deliveries his KKR team-mate Yusuf Pathan had consumed in 2014 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, as he played some stunning shots much to the disappointment of the home crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The West Indian and his opening partner Chris Lynn (50 from 22 balls) put on 105 runs from just 6.1 overs in a show of batting pyrotechnics as KKR chased down the target of 159 in a jiffy. They romped home with 4.5 overs to spare.
Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-39-1), Sreenath Aravind (1-0-26-0) and Samuel Badree (3-0-40-0) bore the brunt of the fury from Narine and Lynn. The KKR batting duo also notched up the record of the highest powerplay total in the IPL as the visiting side were 105 for no loss at the end of six overs.
The win, their eighth of the season, sealed KKR a play- offs berth with 16 points from 12 matches. Already out of reckoning, RCB, on the other hand, slumped to their 10th defeat in 13 matches to remain at the bottom of league table with mere five points. (AGENCIES)
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