Andre Russell had a forgettable IPL last year in UAE after having a phenomenal season the year before. He was striking the ball at almost 200 but his failure to replicate the same performance reflected in his team’s position at the points table as well. However, he is trying to make amends this year and turn his team’s fortune around.
Kolkata Knight Riders were against Chennai Super Kings in their fourth game of the season at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. CSK batsmen tear the KKR bowling lineup apart and scored a mammoth total of 220 in 20 overs.
Also Read: Andre Russell registered his best bowling figures in IPL
In response, KKR got off to a very poor start as they lost their five wickets inside the powerplay alone. Deepak Chahar was the star with the ball as he managed four wickets out of these five. When things looked dead and buried, Andre Russell took the center stage and set the ground on fire with some breathtaking hitting.
Russell pulled his team up singlehandedly and scored a stroke-filled half-century in just 20 balls. He was looking in the mood to do the unthinkable until Sam Curran’s over. The young England all-rounder came into bowl the 12th over of the innings and straightaway dismissed dangerous-looking Russell with a searing incoming delivery, which Russell left thinking it as a leg-side wide. The ball went on to crash into the leg stumps to cut Russell’s brilliant effort short.
M15: KKR vs CSK – Andre Russell Wicket https://t.co/tF9jgQCeEM
— Cricket Videos (@CricketVideos15) April 21, 2021
Sam Curran has stopped the Russell express! For a while there it looked like 'Dre was going to do the improbable!
—#Wolf777News #KKRvCSK #IPL2021 #AndreRussell #KnightRiders #Wolf777Content by @ESPNcricinfo pic.twitter.com/8eEa8h71oD
— Wolf777News (@Wolf777news) April 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/slytherin_8_8/status/1384918410983874563?s=20
When Russell came in, KKR was 31 for 5 from 5.2 overs and then he smashed 54 runs from 22 balls including 3 fours and 6 sixes – 48 runs through boundaries – when he gets the rhythm it's something else and situation doesn't matter. #IPL2021 #kkrvscsk
— Bibekananda Sahu (@IamBibeka) April 21, 2021
It was in fact quite clever with the field set for the wide offside line. Russell moved a bit too much to the offstump and ultimately didn't know where his leg stump was. Don't think luck played a big part here.
— Vatsan Vivekanandan (@VatsanVivekana1) April 21, 2021
Andre Russell Pre meditated for the outside off stump ball. Surprisingly Sam bowled onto the stumps… Russell had a brain fade #starikelungal
— Ashwin (@prabhu6090) April 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/Abey_yr_sid/status/1384918464293396492?s=20
https://twitter.com/Yorker_Gawd/status/1384918489169858560?s=20
#CSKvsKKR
CSKians when Russell were dominating on csk bowlers pic.twitter.com/x1VGh1yhhX— Amrendra Yadav (@ydvvv_707) April 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/RvPatidar236/status/1384918498200141825?s=20
West Indian all-rounder got out after scoring 54 runs off just 22 balls, where he hit three fours along with six mighty sixes.
Pat Cummins took the charge after Russell’s dismissal to score a sizzling half-century, where he hit Sam Curran for 30 runs in a single over. However, he couldn’t get much assistance from the other end as his team eventually fell 18 runs short of the target.
