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Following the victory against five-time champion Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell praised the youngsters of his franchise saying that they are eager to learn from the experienced players in the Knight Riders camp.
A fantastic comeback effort by KKR spinners helped derail MI run-chase of 158 runs, restricting them to 139/8 in 16 overs in the IPL 2024 clash at Eden Gardens on Saturday and made the two-time champions the first team to reach the playoffs. Earlier, rain played a spoilsport and the match officials decided to make it a 16-over contest. The West Indies cricketer asserted that he has worked a lot on his fitness and is happy to do whatever the team needs. "We batted first, so we knew it (pitch) was a bit sticky and something in it for the spinners as well. Based on our bowling attack we felt that was good enough. They got off to a good start, we pulled it back brilliantly. Our bowlers won it for us. He (SKY) is a 360 guy. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I think it's just about belief. The older you get the more experience you get. Have worked on my fitness and happy to do whatever the team needs. I have been doing as much talking as I can (to the team). We have a lot of youngsters. Everyone wants to do well. They listen to all the experienced guys and they are willing to learn," Russell said in the post-match interview. Coming to the match, it was restricted to a 16-over-per-side affair due to rain. MI opted to field first after winning the toss. Following early loss of openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, valuable knocks came from Venkatesh Iyer (42 in 21 balls, with six fours and two sixes), Nitish Rana (33 in 23 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Andre Russell (24 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Rinku Singh (20 in 12 balls, with two sixes), which helped KKR reach 157/7 in the 20 overs. Piyush Chawla (2/28) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/39) were the top bowlers for MI. In the run-chase, Ishan Kishan (40 in 22 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Rohit Sharma (19 in 24 balls, with a four and six) started with a fine 65-run opening stand. However, KKR soon restricted the run of flow and took wickets. Tilak Varma (32 in 17 balls, with five fours and a six) and Naman Dhir (17 in six balls, with a four and two sixes) put up a fight, but MI fell short by 18 runs, ending at 139/8 in their 20 overs. Varun Chakravarthy (2/17) was the top bowler for KKR. Andre Russell and Harshit Rana (2/34) also did fine with the ball. KKR is at the top of the points table, with nine wins and three losses, with 18 points. MI is at the bottom with four wins and nine losses, giving them eight points. (ANI)
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