Abhishek Sharma vs Sunil Narine in IPL: Decoding the stats
Match number 47 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will see the tussle between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad will host this duel on Thursday (May 4). Sunil Narine's battle with Abhishek Sharma will be massive owing to the past face-off of the duo. Here we present their stats.
Abhishek's dominance versus Narine
One of the finest T20 bowlers ever, Narine has struggled against Abhishek in the past. In three innings, the off-spinner has conceded 38 runs off 19 balls against the southpaw, failing to dismiss him even once. The SRH sensation has smoked the veteran spinner for three maximums and a couple of boundaries. Abhishek gathered 11 runs off four balls against Narine earlier this season.
Abhishek enjoys tackling spinners
Unlike most left-handed batters, Abhishek has enjoyed tackling off-spinners. In 15 T20 meetings, he has fallen prey to them just thrice while his strike rate in this regard reads a laud-worthy 160. Meanwhile, Narine boasts an otherwise impressive record versus lefties. In 140 IPL innings, he has dismissed southpaws 49 times, conceding runs at 7.22.
Narine's paltry returns versus SRH
SRH are one of the few IPL teams against which Narine has struggled to take wickets. He has managed just 11 wickets in 21 matches against them though his economy of 6.54 is impressive. The 34-year-old returned with 0/28 in four overs against them earlier this season. Meanwhile, Abhishek's scores against KKR read: 43, 32, 6, 3, and 2*.
A look at their overall numbers
Meanwhile, Narine is KKR's highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 159 wickets in 157 games at an impressive economy of 6.74. He, however, has struggled this season, recording seven wickets in nine matches (ER: 8.81). Abhishek has raced to 806 in 42 IPL games at 23.71 (SR: 138.49). In IPL 2023, he has scored 139 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 156.17.
