‘Russell muscle, for serious’: KKR captain Shreyas Iyer after Andre Russell smashes 71 off 31 vs PBKS

Andre Russell had fallen for 25 after a spark against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous game. But on Friday, in the game against Punjab Kings, Russell made his presence felt for the first time in IPL 2022 with a blitzkrieg 70 off 31 balls as KKR registered a six-wicket win over the Punjab side at the Wankhede Stadium.

After bowlers skittled out Punjab Kings to 137 all out in 18.2 overs, with Umesh Yadav ripping through their defense to scalp four wickets, KKR were deep trouble as they were reduced to 51 for 4. But then as Russell arrived on the pitch, he made mockery of Punjab Kings bowlers, pulling off 141 for 4 in just 14.3 overs to complete the chase.

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Russell, during his unbeaten knock, smashed eight sixes and two boundaries to the thrill of spectators.

“It was such a relief to see him hit so clearly. Simply outstanding hitting. It was Russell muscle, for serious,” a happy KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said at the post-match press conference.

“I was just having a chat with him. He said he’s getting older but I told him he’s getting fitter and stronger. He’s been putting in the hard yards at practice. I see him in the gym every time I go. He’s hungry and wants the team to win. He’s been a great colleague to work with,” added Iyer.

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Earlier, Umesh Yadav produced a brilliant piece of performance with the ball. He conceded mere 23 runs in four overs and dismissed PBKS captain Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingston, Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar. Umesh Yadav now has 8 wickets from three matches and this figures made him top the Purple Cap chart. He is followed by teammate Tim Southee who has taken 5 wickets in 2 matches. He took the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Shahrukh Khan.

Umesh Yadav was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant performance with the ball.

Batting first, Punjab started to take on KKR pacers despite losing captain Mayank Agarwal in the first over to Umesh Yadav, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 31-run knock off 9 balls helped PBKS reach the 50-run mark in just 4.4 overs. And then KKR got two quick wickets which resulted in Punjab Kings’ batting collapse.

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“We were stunned – we didn’t expect them to come so hard, especially after losing a wicket in the first over. But when I saw them timing it so well, I thought I could as well,” said Iyer.

“We got early wickets after the Powerplay so my mindset was if I get wickets as much as possible… my plan was to get the best bowlers when they had hard-hitters coming in,” added Iyer.

Spinning duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy bowled eight overs between themselves and gave away 37 runs, with Chakaravarthy only 14 in his four overs.

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“They make my job very easy on the field. They come up with their own strategies and in team meetings they already know their plans. They know what they’re doing,” said Iyer.

This was KKR’s second win in IPL 2022. In their first match against CSK, they registered a six-wicket win. The Kolkata side will next play Mumbai Indians on April 6.