Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) ace batter Andre Russell muscled the Punjab Kings(PBKS) in the Indian Premier League(IPL) on Friday, April 1. He helped his side recorded a 6-wicket win at the Wankhede Stadium.
Punjab Kings were invited to bat first after KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss. Kolkata Knight Riders restricted Punjab Kings batting line-up to just 137 as they bundled them before the stipulated 20 overs. Umesh Yadav returned with an impressive feat of 4 for 23 – two in the powerplay and two in the middle overs, while Tim Southee picked up a couple of wickets as Kolkata wiped out PBKS batters in 18.2 overs.
Spinners also came in handy as they supported the pace attack. They only conceded 37 runs in eight overs, comprising 27 dot balls and two boundaries between themselves. It was Kagiso Rabada, who played a brilliant cameo of 25 runs off 16 balls to reach the total of 137 runs. Without his contribution, the side had to settle for a lower score.
Andre Russell wins it for Kolkata Knight Riders against Punjab Kings
KKR looked confident with their start of the innings. It was the spinner Rahul Chahar who piled up pressure making a couple of dismissals and registered an impressive bowling figure. He helped his side take the command but it was short-lived as Andre Russell changed the complexion of the match.
Punjab could not restrict Andre Russell as the hard-hitter poured sixes and boundaries over the course of the innings. He managed to hit as many as 7 sixes in his unbeaten knock of glorious 70 runs off 31 balls. KKR chased down the target with 33 balls to spare.
