It was once again the Andre Russell show as Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious against Royal Challengers Bangalore by defeating the Virat Kohli-led outfit by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Russell smashed an unbeaten 48 runs off 13 balls to help KKR chase down the mammoth target of 206 runs. After the blistering knock, Man of the Match – Russell – said that no ground is big enough for him and he trusts his power to clear the boundary ropes.
Russell whacked seven sixes and one boundary en route to his unbeaten knock of 48 as KKR clinched the third victory in four matches to move second in the league table.
“I was confident when I went out to bat. DK was telling me to take a few balls to see how the pitch is behaving. I was watching in the dugout on TV and had a fair idea. When you need 68 off 20-odd balls, it doesn’t happen every day. Need to put your body on the line. The nature of T20 is such that one over can change the momentum.
“A part of me was saying that the runs needed were too much but I wanted to fight and eventually, we won with five balls spare. The support is good from the boys and I am in a good space so that I can express myself. No ground is big enough for me I guess, I just trust my power. Hand-eye coordination is the key (for low full tosses) as they aren’t easy to hit. I try short arm jabs as extending the arms can put you in trouble. Can’t explain much, rather show that on the field,” the KKR all-rounder added.
In IPL 2019, Russell has 204 runs under his belt and has picked up five wickets in four matches for KKR. The Man of the Match was Russell’s third in the tournament.
