IPL 2022: 3 best Andre Russell knocks in the tournament
Kolkata Knight Riders will take Mumbai Indians in match 56 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. The game will be held at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
KKR have won four and lost seven games this season. MI have lost eight and won two matches. Mumbai started the season with eight consecutive losses but are trying to bounce back in the finishing stages, despite play-off hopes being over. They have won two games on the bounce.
Star openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have disappointed for MI. However, middle-order betters like Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have been solid. Murugan Ashwin has been good with the ball in the last few matches.
KKR openers have also disappointed this season and middle-order batters like Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell have had to bear the run-scoring responsibility in every match.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has been one of the best finishers in the T20 format in recent years. He has aggregated 1972 runs in 95 IPL games. He has played several crucial knocks for KKR. On that note, let's take a note of three special innings played by the Caribbean all-rounder.
#1 88*(36) - KKR vs CSK in IPL 2018
KKR faced Chennai Super Kings in match no. 5 of IPL 2018. Put into bat first, KKR were reeling at 88/5 when Russell decided to take things into his own hand.
He smashed the CSK bowlers all over the park and laced his innings with 11 sixes and one boundary. Russell finished with 88 of 36 balls. CSK were set a target of 203.
Chennai opners set up the run chase beautifully and reached the target with one ball to spare courtesy of a smashing innings from Sam Billings lower down the order.
#2 48*(13) - KKR vs RCB in IPL 2019
KKR played RCB in match no. 17 of IPL 2019. RCB were put into bat first. Virat Kohli anchored the innings with Parthiv Patel and later with AB de Villiers. Marcus Stoinis' power-hitting at the end helped RCB post 205/3 in their 20 overs.
KKR batters tried hard but failed to keep up with the run rate and were left at 139/4 after 16 overs. With 67 needed of the last four overs, Russell unleashed his power-hitting once again. He smashed 48 of just 13 deliveries, including one four and seven sixes. KKR reached the target with five balls to spare.
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#3 70*(31) - KKR vs PBKS in IPL 2022
Match no. 8 of IPL 2022 saw Russell return to form. He has hit 272 runs in 11 games so far. His first big effort came against Punjab Kings.
Led by Umesh Yadav's 23/4, KKR bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict PBKS to 137. Punjab struck back in the second innings to reduce Kolkata to 51/4 and looked confident of making a tough match despite scoring low.
However, Russell made it a one-sided affair, courtesy of his explosive batting power. He hit 70 off 31 deliveries, with two fours and eight sixes. KKR won the match with more than five overs to spare.