Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara praised star all-around player Andre Russell, saying that there isn’t a big enough outfield for him. His remarks followed Russell’s remarkable performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Eden Gardens against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 23.
Phil Salt, the KKR opener, scored a vital half-century, but the team’s hitters faltered after being asked to bat first. Russell, who bats at No. 8, took over when Salt was dismissed, and he played an incredible 25-ball 64* knock that included seven maximums and three boundaries, helping KKR set a gigantic goal of 209 runs. He broke the previous record when he became the third Windies player and the only hitter for the Kolkata-based team to hit 200 sixes in the history of the competition.
Lara expressed her shock at Russell’s performance and described his knock as absurd to Star Sports. The 54-year-old also highlighted the all-rounder’s batting prowess.
“That was absurd. We know what André Russell is capable of. There is no outfield large enough for Andre Russell when he is slamming balls, Lara stated after Russell finished with a fantastic inning.
As KKR defeats SRH by 4 runs, Andre Russell and Harshit Rana shine.
Thanks to half-centuries from Andre Russell and Phil Salt, the Kolkata Knight Riders scored 208 runs. Prior to scoring a half-century, Russell and fellow batsman Rinku Singh also quickly established a quick-fire partnership of 81 runs. With outstanding scores of 3/32, T. Natarajan was the preferred bowler for SRH. While captain Pat Cummins took one wicket, Mayank Markande claimed two.
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In the chase, Mayank Agarwal and Impact Player Abhishek Sharma put up a strong opening partnership of 60 runs to put SRH in a strong position. Russell and Harshit Rana, however, struck to cut the visitors to 71 for two. Then, Heinrich Klaasen (63) and Shahbaz Ahmed (16) spearheaded the SRH attack, putting together a 58-run partnership in just 16 deliveries. Harshit Rana removed both of them as KKR won the match by four runs, but Klaasen smacked a six off the first delivery of the final over, when SRH needed 13 to win. Russell’s all-around performance earned him the Player of the Match title, even though he took two wickets in the second inning.
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