Green happy to play second fiddle as Allen brings up maiden IPL ton

Finn Allen’s maiden Indian Premier League hundred for Kolkata Knight Riders came with a little help from teammate Cameron Green, who said he deliberately eased off late in the chase to give the New Zealander a shot at three figures.

Allen smashed an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls as Kolkata cruised to an eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Friday, though with only 143 to chase, the milestone was not guaranteed.

Green acknowledged he slowed his own scoring, even taking a single late on to ensure Allen had the strike to get his century with a six.

“I did the maths when I knew we had about 29 to get, I was working it out,” Green told reporters in Delhi.

“I knew I would be the most hated man in Kolkata if I did anything else but that.”

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Playing his first IPL season, Allen delivered a blistering knock, featuring 10 sixes and five fours and marking a sharp turnaround after a difficult start to the campaign.

He managed just 81 runs in his first five games and was dropped for three matches before returning to the side. Green praised Allen’s innings, saying it was a rare privilege to witness from the non-striker’s end.

“Yeah, it was really special,” Green said.

“There’s only a handful of times during your career when you get a chance to be at the other end to watch something like that.”

Kolkata have now won four matches in a row and climbed to seventh in the standings with nine points. They face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday.