Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a lot to thank Andre Russell for, as his blistering knock of 70 helped them defeat Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 8th match of the ongoing IPL 2022. KKR found itself in a precarious position while chasing 138 at Wankhede.
PBKS batted first after KKR’s Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 31 in 9 balls and Kagiso Rabada’s 25 were the top scores for PBKS as Umesh Yadav routed them with figures of 4/23, while Tim Southee took 2/36.
In reply, KKR found themselves 51/4 in 7 overs, but then Sam Billings (24*) played a supporting role to Andre Russell, who smacked the PBKS bowling to all parts of the Wankhede Stadium. He hit 2 fours and 8 sixes in his 31-ball 70* knock, as KKR won the match with 6 wickets in hand and 5.3 overs to spare.
Sam Billings lauded Russell’s knock for which he was awarded the Player of the Match as well.
"It's pretty relaxed, he rubbed off on me nicely there tonight. I had the best seat in the house and, what a performance by the big man. I was very lucky to be stood where I stood. I feared for my life a couple of times, as we saw, but special, special [knock] for him," said Billings in a post-match press conference.
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"He's shown what a world-class performer [he is], the best in the world when he goes like that. For me, it's just about holding the game there and supporting him. He was the star and I let him play his game. For me, if he was to get out, is about taking the game deep on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers. It was just about that clarity - let him go and play his game, he can win a game as we saw in the space of five overs. Baz always kind of backed each individual to do that, and when you've got a world-class performer like that, you see the destruction he can cause," he added.
The batter further praised pacer Umesh Yadav, who scalped four wickets against PBKS and became the current Purple Cap holder.
"Umesh Yadav has been fantastic. At Delhi last year, myself, him and Ajinkya didn't get a game. But he's shown what a class performer he's been over the years - certainly for India and Kolkata previously. So [he is] bowling with lovely pace, swinging the ball and nipping the ball," said the batter.
"And yeah, these wickets have been assisting the frontline bowlers certainly early, but he's made the most out of it. It makes such a difference when you get wickets in the powerplay, it really does set up the game for us. And yeah that's been a fundamental part throughout all the games, certainly the ones I've watched on TV as well, early wickets have really hurt sides," he added.
KKR will now face off against MI on April 6 in their 4th match.
(ANI inputs)
