press trust of india
Pune, April 18: Andre Russell (66, 39b, 9×4, 2×6) came to the party when it mattered the most and helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)?script a facile four-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in a match of IPL-VIII at the MCA Stadium here Saturday.
Chasing a challenging total of 155 for nine by KXIP, on a not so easy pitch, the Knights romped home to victory with 16 balls to spare riding on Russell’s knock. The West Indian was well-supported by Yusuf Pathan (28 n o, 24b, 4×4) and the two put on 95 runs for the sixth wicket after KKR?had been reduced to 60 for five with KXIP pacer Sandeep Sharma (4/25) doing most of the damage.
However, once the Russell show started, KXIP simply did not have any answer to stop the blitzkrieg.
The mayhem started in the 13th over of the KKR innings when Russell hit Axar Patel for 19 runs which had two boundaries and a six that went into stratosphere. The floodgates had opened and in the very next over Mitch Johnson went for 10 and KKR were well on their way.
Earlier KXIP skipper George Bailey (60, 45b, 5×4, 2×6) held the innings together against some good penetrative bowling by KKR pacers. Umesh Yadav (3/33), Morne Morkel (2/27) and Russell (2/39) bowled well in tandem. Sunil Narine (1/17) also picked up his first wicket in IPL-VIII.
Brief scores: KXIP 155 for 9 (George Bailey 60, Umesh Yadav 3/33) lost to KKR 159 for 6 in 17.5 overs (Andre Russell 66, Yusuf Pathan 28, Sandeep Sharma 4/25) by four wickets.