"Definitely A Big Achievement": Andre Russell On Smashing 8 Sixes vs PBKS

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell described his unbeaten knock of 70 runs, which included eight sixes, as a big achievement after KKR chased down a 138-run target in 14.3 overs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) to register their second consecutive win of the season at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. However, Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a decent start with openers hitting consecutive boundaries, but Punjab's Kagiso Rabada dismissed Ajinkya Rahane while Odeon Smith got the wicket of Shreyas Iyer and Rahul Chahar struck twice dismissing Shreyas for 26 and Nitish Rana for a duck to leave KKR tottering at 51 for 4.

Andre Russell walked in to bat and the powerful hitter hammered Harpreet Brar for two sixes in the 10th over. In the 12th over Russell hammered Odean Smith for four sixes and a four to take Kolkata's total beyond the triple-figure mark.

"Yeah, I'm looking to do better much. You know past games I have 14 sixes let's see if I can get that again. I'm happy to close off the innings as well and getting eight sixes is definitely a big achievement in some games the entire team only gets six or seven sixes, so it's good for me to get eight sixes that's what I will practice in the next game for," Andre Russell told Tim Southee in a video posted on IPL website.

Talking about the Orange Cap and fellow West Indies player Odean Smith, Russell said, "Yeah it feels comfortable and I'm going to wear this as long as possible. Well actually he is a quick guy, you know I was just backing myself to give options to open. It's good to have him burn today also I'm looking forward to the other games."

Russell hammered eight sixes and two boundaries en route to his unbeaten knock of 70 from 31 balls and Sam Billings gave him company at the other end to guide KKR to their second win of this season.

Tim Southee believes that he was lucky to pull off a sensational catch to dismiss Kagiso Rabada for 25 runs from 15 balls. With the rhythm in which Rabada was playing he would have scored 15 runs in the last over.

Talking about the incredible catch he took against Punjab and his bowling partnership with Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee said, "I think I was lucky that it was so high but it's nice for me. Umesh has been brilliant. it's a great start for the tournament for someone who sat on the sidelines last year. So far he has outstanding style and the skills he has got make my job a lot easier. He can bowl fast, he can swing the ball. It's great to share the bowl with him."

Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2022 Kolkata Knight Riders Punjab Kings Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, Match 8 Andre Russell Tim Southee Cricket