Sunil Narine: World Cricket's Bowler of the Month, September 2014
Wherever the world of Twenty20 cricket travels, so too does Sunil Narine.
The most modern of limited-overs spinners, the unflappable West Indian continues to move from one furiously-paced tournament to another, bewildering opposing batsmen with a riddle that seems impossible to decipher.
In September, the finger spinner has once again reigned supreme for the Kolkata Knight Riders, this time in the Champions League Twenty20.
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Leading his team to four consecutive victories in the powerful Group A, Narine has utilised his deceptive skills that have become truly characteristic to capture 11 wickets in just four matches—a stunning return in the game's shortest format.
But it hasn't all gone swimmingly for the 26-year-old.
During the Knight Riders' clash with the Dolphins on Monday, the West Indian was reported for a suspect bowling action by on-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and Chettihody Shamshuddin, along with third umpire Kumar Dharmasena, per ESPN Cricinfo.
According to ESPN Cricinfo's Nagraj Gollapudi, the umpires "specifically picked the fourth and fifth deliveries of the 15th over and the fourth ball of the penultimate over of Dolphins' innings as suspect."
Interestingly, all three were delivered considerably quicker than Narine's typical pace.
Yet, the reported deliveries have only resulted in a warning being given to the spinner, who is free to play in the remainder of the tournament provided there aren't any subsequent offences.
| Sep. 17 | Chennai Super Kings | CLT20 | Hyderabad | 1/9 |
| Sep. 21 | Lahore Lions | CLT20 | Hyderabad | 3/9 |
| Sep. 24 | Perth Scorchers | CLT20 | Hyderabad | 4/31 |
| Sep. 29 | Dolphins | CLT20 | Hyderabad | 3/33 |
| Sunil Narine | 4 | 11 | 4/31 | 7.45 | 5.12 | 8.7 |
| Aizaz Cheema | 6 | 11 | 3/15 | 16.00 | 8.80 | 10.9 |
| Ashish Nehra | 3 | 8 | 4/21 | 11.25 | 7.50 | 9.0 |
| Ben Hilfenhaus | 4 | 8 | 3/14 | 13.37 | 6.68 | 12.0 |
| Doug Bollinger | 4 | 8 | 3/22 | 14.75 | 8.04 | 11.0 |
| Ish Sodhi | 7 | 8 | 3/18 | 19.00 | 6.80 | 16.7 |
| Tim Southee | 7 | 8 | 3/22 | 23.37 | 7.90 | 17.7 |
Standout Performance
It may seem contradictory that Narine's finest performance in September was also the match in which he claimed the least wickets, but oddly that's the case.
In Kolkata's opening CLT20 clash with the imposing Chennai Super Kings, the West Indian brought their Indian Premier League rivals to a grinding halt in the first innings, sucking the life out of a fast start for MS Dhoni's team to play a leading role in the Knight Riders' victory.
After Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum had propelled Chennai to a 10-run-per-over start, Narine came on in the fifth over to put a halt to the charge. The six balls cost him just three runs.
His second over—the innings' 12th—cost just another three and included the wicket of the devastating Suresh Raina.
When he returned to the attack in the 16th over, he was faced with Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo—two of the world's most fearsome strikers of a cricket ball. Remarkably, the over cost him just two.
And when he completed his set of fours overs in the innings 18th, the bewildering spinner delivered five straight dot balls to finish with stunning figures of 1/9 from four overs.
Set a total of just 158 thanks to Narine, KKR reached their target with an over to spare.
The Road Ahead
To begin October, Narine will lead Kolkata's finals campaign in the CLT20, with a semi-final against the Hobart Hurricanes on Thursday the first of his tasks.
Should Gautam Gambhir's side emerge victorious against the Australian outfit, the team's supreme T20 spinner with be charged with the responsibility of quelling either CSK or Kings XI Punjab in the tournament's final to be played in Bangalore.
Following the conclusion of the CLT20, Narine will remain in India and join his West Indies' teammates as they embark on a Test and limited-overs campaign on the subcontinent.
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