It was a fine display for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they clinched a nail-biting thriller against Punjab Kings last night. It was a magical display of belief and resilience till that final ball where Andre Russell and Rinku Singh would eventually hammer away the winning runs, almost battling against insurmountable odds.
The kind of batter that Andre Russell usually is, with the kind of firepower that he has up his sleeve, when you need just 2 off the last 2 balls, you would ideally be fancying your chances of a monstrous strike that can sail miles into the stand. But then again in recent times we have seen that Andre Russell has actually struggled to get underneath those picture-perfect yorkers or in case if there has been a slow bouncer.
KKR vs PBKS final over in a nutshell
Last night’s battle between KKR and PBKS saw Andre Russell smack three massive sixes in the penultimate over to get KKR in the hunt for what was a remarkable win. But then in an incredible incident where Russell was smoking the bowlers for fun, Arshdeep produced an impeccable wide yorker where Russell’s desperate stretch couldn’t get him in the groove for a strike.
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Surprisingly, Andre Russell ran towards the other end and brought Rinku Singh back on strike. Eventually, KKR managed to steal away the bragging rights after what was an ecstatic encounter. Just to run you through the final half of the game, Rinku Singh smashed a boundary to seal the bragging rights for KKR, eventually getting them well in shape for a scintillating victory.
Here is what Andre Russell had to say about Rinku Singh
Russell said in the post-match conference about this incident where he highlighted how it all went slick and fine and what could have been possibly been the outcome if things would have spiralled out of control.
Dre Russ said, “Definitely in any other game, with any other batter, I’m not sure if I would have run. I’ve never really done those things before. I would back myself to bat till the last delivery and get the job done. But when you have a batter like Rinku at the other end and who has been successful in the last few games for us, I was definitely confident. He is just a fearless player, wherever you bowl he has a shot to counter that. I told him we need you and we need you at this point. He said, ‘big man no worries’, so happy days.”