Andre Russell scripted the most unlikely victory for Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday (March 24) and earned rich praise even from opposition wrist spinner Rashid Khan, who was left in awe of just how well the explosive West Indies batsman performed against his team. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) looked set for a comfortable win while defending the 182-run target, but then Russell came in and played a blistering knock of 49 off just 19 balls to chase the whole thing down with still two balls left in the innings. 

"Russell played a great knock," Rashid said at the post-match press conference. "He took the game away from us. He played all the shots, the bowlers did not bowl bad deliveries but he just smashed them."

"It’s just the start of the tournament. We did really well in our department. We just couldn’t finish well in the last three overs and that happens in T20 cricket. Hopefully, we will try and not repeat the same mistakes and go back stronger and play well at home next."

Russell also picked up two crucial wickets at the death and slowed down a once rampaging Sunrisers Hyderabad batting performance. The 30-year-old was later awarded "Player-of-the-Match" for his all-round brilliance. 

Earlier, David Warner stretched together an opening stand of 118 with Jonny Bairstow who struck 39 runs off 35 deliveries and made a superb comeback to IPL with a knock of 85 from 53 balls. Vijay Shankar later smashed away a valiant 40-run innings in 24 balls as well. But there was still a feeling that SRH did leave atleast another 20 runs if not 30 on the park. Though, Rashid thought differently. 

"180-plus was a good total. Usually, at Eden, 170 plus is a good total and can be defended. The bowling line up that we have, it was not like we scored less or batted badly. We just could not finish well and that happens," he concluded. 

(Inputs from Indian Express)