Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Eoin Morgan on Thursday (October 7) said all-rounder Andre Russell has been working "incredibly" hard to recover from the hamstring injury.
Morgan’s comment came after KKR thrashed Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 86 runs to almost seal their place in the IPL 2021 playoffs.
"A really strong performance today. Having aggressive players coming in the middle order helped us kick... Shakib coming in and performing the way he has in the last two games has made replacing Andre Russell easier. He has contributed massively," said Morgan during the post-match presentation.
The KKR captain is keeping his fingers crossed over Russell's availability in the playoffs.
"We are taking it day by day [with Russell], so he's working incredibly hard. Fingers crossed. I hope [I can play golf tomorrow]. I am not too attached to things as to what will happen and what won't happen... We have done everything tonight. We deserved to win," he added.
Coming to the match, KKR posted 171/4 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Shubman Gill’s 44-ball 56 after being asked to bat first. Venkatesh Iyer also made a notable contribution of 35-ball 38.
In reply, the Royals were bowled out for a paltry 85 in 16.1 overs. Shivam Mavi (4-21), Lockie Ferguson (3-18) and Varun Chakravarthy (1-14) starred with the ball for KKR.
"I don't think it could have got better. Losing the toss and batting was difficult. The start we got was fantastic. Gill and Iyer have been our shining light. To get 170 we thought was in a commanding position," said Morgan.
(With ANI inputs)
