"I owe Rinku a dinner, he doesn't drink" - Andre Russell after four-wicket haul in the 20th over vs GT

Andre Russell returned with four wickets against Gujarat (Credit: BCCI/IPL)

Andre Russell bowled an outstanding 20th over as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) restricted Gujarat Titans (GT) to 157 runs at the DY Patil Sports Academy on Saturday.

Russell, who was introduced for the first time in the last over, picked up four wickets, giving away only five runs. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh was involved with three of the four wickets that fell, grabbing onto some crucial catches.

Other KKR bowlers vs Russell 😅 #GTvKKR #IPL2022 https://t.co/F2bzRZfCwy

Rinku is known to be a safe pair of hands and positioned himself well to pick those catches. Andre Russell jokingly said that he will give the young cricketer a treat for those catches. Speaking at the mid-inning break, Russell said:

"I owe Rinku a dinner, he doesn't drink, I'll get him anything (has a laugh at the end)."

The West Indian now has 10 wickets under his belt in eight matches at an economy rate of over 10.

When asked about his strategy while bowling the final over, Andre Russell stated that he wanted to restrict Gujarat to below 160 and was not thinking about wickets. The 33-year-old Jamaican said:

"Similar thing last year, I managed to pick up five wickets in the two overs against Mumbai. I wasn't even thinking about wickets, was thinking about restricting them to under 160, a few runs short and some wickets."

Incidentally, Russell picked up a five-wicket haul in just 12 balls against the Mumbai Indians last year.

"Hopefully these guys won't give me a chance" - Andre Russell on batting

Sending Sunil Narine to open against a team that has Shami, Joseph and Lockie(all 3 can bowl short and quick) was always gonna end only one way.

Gone are the days when teams were fool enough to bowl spin at him in the powerplay,he can't be consistent top order option anymore.

The star KKR all-rounder is hoping that he won't have to bat given that his side need 158 runs to win the game, coming on the back of three straight defeats. He said:

"It's a massive boundary, the heat at the moment will take a toll. Hopefully, these guys won't give me a chance but I'm ready for anything. I think the wicket is gripping a bit, the cutters are coming in handy. We need to make sure we utilize the experience at the top, the slower ball is tough."

However, struggling at 35/4, it seems the Kolkata franchise will need a masterclass from Russell to chase down the total.