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KOLKATA: Andre Russell repaid the faith Kolkata Knight Riders have had on him over the years at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. The knights were looking down the barrel against Sunrisers Hyderabad, having lost four wickets inside eight overs, but Russell’s power hitting saw them end up at 208 for seven.
Opener Phil Salt, who had played alongside Russell in Manchester Originals in The Hundred, was excited watching the West Indian hit seven sixes and three fours in his 25-ball unbeaten 64.
“He’s a phenomenal ball striker. The best in the world on his day,” Salt said after their four-run win. “So, to see him do what he did, obviously is incredible. Love watching it, but, you know, it’s no surprise to me. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody on the ground. When he’s on, he’s incredible.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad must have fancied their chance till Russell appeared with his sledgehammer. “You feel like you’ve some control, but because of the power and the skill, he (Russell) takes the game away,”
SRH coach Daniel Vettori said. “At this ground (Eden) in particular and how good the surface is, it’s very tricky (to challenge Russell). Obviously, you get some chances when balls go in the air, but his power is second to none.”
Ramandeep, Harshit make an impact: The SRH coach felt it was young Ramandeep Singh who made a huge difference. The 26-year-old scored vital 35 runs off 17 balls but more importantly put together 54 runs with Salt that steadied the KKR innings. “Ramandeep’s innings set up the platform for Russell,” Vettori said.
“I don’t think we underestimated him (Ramandeep), but the shots he played were fantastic and put the pressure back on us,” the former New Zealand spinner said. “With Salt well set at the other end, it allowed him to play his game, and there was no pressure for him to take too many risks.” Wicketkeeper-batter Salt too acknowledged Ramandeep’s r ole. “He took the pressure off me. He came in and had a hell of a cameo and we started to put a partnership together,” the opener said.
“You know, when wickets are falling, it’s all about making those partnerships. And for him to come out on debut (for KKR) and do that is impressive,” the Englishman said.
However, the match could have gone either way as Heinrich Klaasen broke loose with a counter-attacking fifty. But pacer Harshit Rana did well to pick up two wickets in defending 12 runs in the last over. Skipper Shreyas Iyer confessed having cold feet going into the last over.
“Right from the 17th over I had butterflies in my stomach,” Shreyas said after the game. “And to be honest, in the last over I thought anything can happen. We probably didn’t have the most experienced bowler bowling at that particular time. But I had that belief in him,” he said. “This is the time where he could become a hero… I looked into his eyes and told him ‘this is your moment, buddy. You need to make the best use of it and don’t think much about it,” the skipper stated.
Rana fined 60% of match fee: KKR pacer Harshit Rana has been fined 60 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Opener Phil Salt, who had played alongside Russell in Manchester Originals in The Hundred, was excited watching the West Indian hit seven sixes and three fours in his 25-ball unbeaten 64.
“He’s a phenomenal ball striker. The best in the world on his day,” Salt said after their four-run win. “So, to see him do what he did, obviously is incredible. Love watching it, but, you know, it’s no surprise to me. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody on the ground. When he’s on, he’s incredible.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad must have fancied their chance till Russell appeared with his sledgehammer. “You feel like you’ve some control, but because of the power and the skill, he (Russell) takes the game away,”
SRH coach Daniel Vettori said. “At this ground (Eden) in particular and how good the surface is, it’s very tricky (to challenge Russell). Obviously, you get some chances when balls go in the air, but his power is second to none.”
Ramandeep, Harshit make an impact: The SRH coach felt it was young Ramandeep Singh who made a huge difference. The 26-year-old scored vital 35 runs off 17 balls but more importantly put together 54 runs with Salt that steadied the KKR innings. “Ramandeep’s innings set up the platform for Russell,” Vettori said.
“I don’t think we underestimated him (Ramandeep), but the shots he played were fantastic and put the pressure back on us,” the former New Zealand spinner said. “With Salt well set at the other end, it allowed him to play his game, and there was no pressure for him to take too many risks.” Wicketkeeper-batter Salt too acknowledged Ramandeep’s r ole. “He took the pressure off me. He came in and had a hell of a cameo and we started to put a partnership together,” the opener said.
“You know, when wickets are falling, it’s all about making those partnerships. And for him to come out on debut (for KKR) and do that is impressive,” the Englishman said.
However, the match could have gone either way as Heinrich Klaasen broke loose with a counter-attacking fifty. But pacer Harshit Rana did well to pick up two wickets in defending 12 runs in the last over. Skipper Shreyas Iyer confessed having cold feet going into the last over.
“Right from the 17th over I had butterflies in my stomach,” Shreyas said after the game. “And to be honest, in the last over I thought anything can happen. We probably didn’t have the most experienced bowler bowling at that particular time. But I had that belief in him,” he said. “This is the time where he could become a hero… I looked into his eyes and told him ‘this is your moment, buddy. You need to make the best use of it and don’t think much about it,” the skipper stated.
Rana fined 60% of match fee: KKR pacer Harshit Rana has been fined 60 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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