|
Player of the Match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings on Monday Andre Russell heaped praise on Rinku Singh who has emerged as a finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders in this season of the contest.
The West Indian batter said that he gets "goosebumps" watching Rinku Singh bat for KKR. After winning 'Player of the Match' for his match-winning knock of 42 off 23 balls at Eden Gardens, Russell said that he gets goosebumps seeing Rinku Singh bat the way he is doing for KKR. Rinku Singh secured KKR's win in the last ball by hitting a boundary as the batter scored 21 off just 10 balls in the match. "I wanted to finish the game off, but we have a finisher this year in Rinku. (On Rinku) He had told me what if the ball beats you, should we go for the run? I said for sure, I have faith in him to finish it last ball. I get goosebumps seeing him doing what he's been doing. I have company at the back end, he soaks the pressure off and he's been here for years now, a really hard-working guy. He's very funny outside the field, I try to stay as close to him while we are training. Feeling good, now," Russell said. "We already thought about it, the ball was gripping so we just wanted to stick it out. They miss their lengths and we could swing it around. Needing 30 off the final two, it was very gettable. I flicked one into the stands without really swinging at it. And that six over point put the icing on the cake." Russell further added. KKR won a thrilling match against PBKS in the last over finish. A half-century by Nitish Rana and fiery cameos from Andre Russell and Rinku Singh helped Kolkata clinch a five-wicket win. In the chase of 180, Nitish scored 51 off 38 and Andre Russell smashed 42 off 23 and Rinku Singh 21 off 10 balls. For PBKS, Rahul Chahar picked two wickets conceding 23 runs in four overs. Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis dismissed one batter each. Earlier, a half-century by skipper Shikhar Dhawan and late cameos by Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar guided Punjab Kings to a competitive 179/7. Shikhar scored 57 off 47 balls, Jitesh Sharma played a cameo of 21 off 18 balls and Rishi Dhawan scored a quick 19 off 11 balls. Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, taking 3/26 in four overs. Harshit took two wickets while Suyash and Nitish got one each. KKR is in the fifth spot in the points table with five wins, six losses and a total of 10 points. PBKS has slipped to the seventh position in the table with 10 points due to a low net-run rate. (ANI)
|
