Andre Russell's power-hitting abilities deserves the tag of being 'neighbour's envy, owner's pride'. Even in Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) previous match against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Saturday, with his team chasing a target of 157, the Jamaican allrounder hit 48 off 25 balls (6x6s, 1x4s) before falling in the last over as KKR failed to win. However, Russell's impressive show was lauded by all. The rival bowlers, however, might have a different thing to say with Russell's aggression making their life difficult.
Now, in a video posted on KKR's social media handles, something different can be seen facing the brunt of Russell's brutal stroke-play. After Russell's tonks the bowler (who is not seen in the video) for a skier, a KKR support staff can be seen holding a broken chair. Russell's strike was so powerful that it left a hole in the chair. "Wait for the #MuscleRussell impact at the end!" read the caption of the 18 second video clip.
In IPL 2022, Russell has scored 227 runs in eight matches at an average of 45.40. His strike-rate is a mind-boggling 180.16. Overall, across 10 seasons, Russell has scored 1927 runs at an average of 30.59. His cumulative strike-rate is 178.76.
With the ball too, he has been effective. In the last over of the match against GT, Russell gave away only five runs and took four wickets. It was the best last over bowling figures in the history of the IPL. His four victims were Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, Rahul Tewatia and Yash Dayal. It was also the best bowling figures by any bowler at DY Patil Stadium in the IPL. Russell is also now the fourth highest wicket-taker (eight scalps) in the 20th over of an innings in IPL since 2020.