Andre Russell’s promising cameo for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was cut short when he was dismissed by Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowler Arshdeep Singh in the IPL 2024 encounter on Friday, April 26 at Eden Gardens.
Andre Russell had a crouching position, ready to pounce on Arshdeep’s wide line deliveries. He did it on a couple of times, receiving a six and four.
However, Arshdeep Singh demonstrated exceptional foresight by surprising Andre Russell with a bouncer. Russell first attempted to avoid it, but chose to play it at the last minute and was late on the shot. The all-rounder failed to obtain the needed distance as he lobbed towards Harshal Patel with a square leg.
Here’s a video of how Russell was dismissed:
Russell, who had already hit 24 runs off 11 balls, might have put a significant hole in Punjab’s assault if he had lasted till the conclusion of the innings.
Dropped catches hurt PBKS as KKR set a mammoth target
Punjab’s fielding was poor, and the KKR hitters punished them severely with their opening pair. Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, who provided several opportunities, made the visitors lament their wasted chances with a big opening stand of 138 runs.
Salt (75) and Narine (71) played their part. Then came useful cameos from Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, and skipper Shreyas Iyer, who helped the hosts hit a whopping 261/6, the Knight Riders’ second-highest total in IPL history.
The Punjab Kings had a strong start in their chase, with Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh contributing 93 runs in the powerplay. However, Prabhsimran’s needless run-out has put KKR back in control of the game as of writing. PBKS may require something unique from Bairstow to pull this off.
