Russell explodes late to steal Warner’s thunder, KKR win
KOLKATA:THE assault by appointment on bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was a match late in coming.
If David Warner (85; 53b; 4x9, 6x3) started it, resuming his tryst with the IPL after May 17, 2017, but playing like he hadn’t left, Andre Russell ended it with an effort that made the Australian’s innings look staid.
In the last 2.4 overs, KKR made 54 runs. Russell started the carnage in the 18th over, taking 19 off Siddharth Kaul, beginning with two sixes and a four that blitzed past cover. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, leading Sunrisers Hyderabad in the absence of Kane Williamson, went for 21 in the next having gone for 16 in three before that. The first ball went through midwicket, the next was a six that seemed it would sail over Eden Gardens, the third was a yorker forced to the long-off fence and then, off balance, Russell hit a six over extra-cover. This was brutal and brilliant at the same time.
Still 13 was needed off the last over but Shubman Gill hit Shakib Al Hasan for two towering sixes and KKR, chasing 182, won by six wickets. When Russell had come out, KKR needed 87 off 44 balls. The big West Indian all-rounder made a blemish-free 49 off 19 balls with four fours and four sixes. And he took 2/32, dismissing Warner and Yusuf Pathan.
Between Warner and Russell was Nitish Rana punishing bowlers. Rana took 35 deliveries to get to half-century, only four more than Warner. When an attempted yorker from Sandeep Sharma became a full toss in the 15th over, Rana sent it into the crowd with force that non-striker Russell would have been proud of. Rashid Khan was reverse-swept for four to start the 16th when lights blinked on a tower due to a short circuit leading to a 12-minute stoppage. First ball on resumption, Rana was leg-before after a chanceless 68 (47b; 4x8, 6x3).
Opening with Jonny Bairstow after SRH were put in on Sunday afternoon, Warner survived a leg-before shout off the first ball and Lockie Ferguson could have got him out on 21 and 68, the second one a fairly easy gloved chance that Dinesh Karthik spilled, but also showed the power and panache he is known for. Two boundaries through the covers off Piyush Chawla showed Warner was in business. When Prasidh Krishna dropped it short, Warner pulled. Kuldeep Yadav was greeted with a reverse sweep that fetched four and Warner brought up his 37th IPL fifty with a four and six off Russell.
Perhaps because the cameras preened away from him to welcome KKR boss Shah Rukh Khan, Warner hit Kuldeep to one of them positioned beyond the long-on boundary. He picked a slower ball from Russell and blasted it for six. It took a superb catch from Robin Uthappa, who had not been able to get to a sharp chance when Warner was on 21, to stop Warner.
With help from Bairstow, who made a 35-ball 39 (4x3, 6x1), and another mature effort from Vijay Shankar (40 in 24 balls; 4x2, 6x2), SRH made 181/3.
Chris Lynn went early but Uthappa and Rana added 80. Rana creamed Bhuvneshwar for an early boundary through point and hit a six off Shakib over long-on. His innings helped set the stage for Russell to explode and, boy, explode he did.