'No ground is big enough for me': Andre Russell's humble brag after RCB vs KKR match in IPL 2019
Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell on Friday showed that he can clinch victory from anywhere.
Andre Russell has issued a warning to teams everywhere saying 'no ground is big enough for him' after yet another unbelievable display of power hitting in the Indian Premier League.
The Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder once again showed that he can clinch victory from anywhere. Russell hammered seven sixes as he scored 48 runs off just 13 balls to chase a colossal target of 205 and hand over Royal Challengers Bangalore their fifth consecutive defeat in the ongoing IPL 2019 on Friday.
Needing 66 runs off 24 balls, KKR were up against it before Russell came in and smashed them to complete the job with five balls to spare. His knock comprised seven sixes and one four.
The 30-year old has the most number of sixes under his belt- 22 in this season of IPL and interestingly, the second number placed batsman, Nitish Rana, has just 12 sixes.
Andre Russell said that he backed himself to win the match comfortably despite chasing a huge total.
"A part of me was saying that the runs [needed] were too much but I know once I'm there, anything is possible and we won with five balls to spare," Russell said in the post-match presentation.
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The all-rounder said that he had thought Australian grounds were massive, only to surprise himself by sending a few into the stands Down Under.
"A few grounds in Australia and then I surprised myself there by hitting a few into the stands. No ground is big enough for me I guess, I just trust my strength and trust my power. I have good bat speed. I trust that as well," Russell said after his exploits in KKR's five-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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KKR were kept alive in the chase through opener Chris Lynn (43 off 31), Robbie Uthappa (33 off 25) and Nitish Rana (37 off 23) before Russell singlehandedly got the job done in the death overs.
"The support is good from the boys and I am in a good space so that I can express myself. I try short arm jabs as extending the arms can put you in trouble. Can't explain much, rather show that on the field," Russell said.
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"I was confident when I went out to bat. DK (Dinesh Karthik) was telling me to take a few balls to see how the pitch is behaving. I was watching in the dugout on TV and had a fair idea. When you need 68 off 20-odd balls, it doesn't happen every day. Need to put your body on the line."
"The nature of T20 is such that one over can change the momentum. That's why I never give up. A part of me was saying that the runs needed were too much but I wanted to fight and eventually, we won with five balls spare," Russell added.
(Image: PTI)