It was yet again a brilliant show by the Caribbean muscle power of Andre Russell which did the trick for Kolkata Knight Riders as they sealed a 6-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their first game of IPL 2019 at the iconic Eden Gardens. KKR, who were chasing a stiff target of 182 runs, eventually won the match with two balls to spare.
Nitish Rana led the chase with a 47-ball 68 but an untimely delay due to floodlight failure at Eden Gardens broke his rhythm and he was dismissed by Rashid Khan in the 16th over with KKR still needing more than 60 runs to win in less than 5 overs. The asking rate increasing with each passing ball and with bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul were remaining to bowl, Sunrisers were the hands-down favorites to win this match.
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But these are moments which a player like Russell cherishes. With his backs to the wall and an anxious crowd at the Eden praying for a miracle, the Windies all-rounder decided to unleash himself, taking SRH’s experiences bowlers apart. In a blitz that lasted 19 balls, Russell hit 4 boundaries and 4 maximums to bring the match alive to score 49 runs.
In the last three overs, KKR needed 53 runs In the last three overs, KKR needed 53 runs and in the 18th over of Siddharth Kaul, Russell smashed 19 runs with the help of two sixes and in following over of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the KKR all-rounder smacked 21 runs. Russell’s brilliance with the bat meant KKR needed 13 runs off the last over and youngster Shubman Gill finished the proceedings off with the big man stranded unbeaten on 49 runs. But Andre won’t mind missing his half-century as Kolkata won the match.
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Russell had earlier picked up two wickets to put in yet another all-around shift for the team. But it was his knock with the bat that proved to be the turning point of the match.
Here is the video of Russell’s sixes:
https://twitter.com/Vidshots1/status/1109832621322694656
Here is the video of Gill’s sixes in the final over:
https://twitter.com/Vidshots1/status/1109832621322694656
Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 181/3 (D Warner: 85, V Shankar: 40; A Russell: 2/32) defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders – 183/4 (N Rana: 68; A Russell 49 ) by 6 wickets
