Kolkata Knight Riders chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav has hailed Windies all-rounder Andre Russell for an extraordinary innings in a 25-run eliminator win over Rajastan Royals on Wednesday.
With KKR wobbling at 106 for 5 Russell stood firm at the crease where he smoked a blistering 49 from 25 balls to put the team firmly in control. In the end, the Knight Riders made 169 for 7 before restricting the Royals to 144 for 4. Russell blasted three 4s and fives 6s, which saw KKR score 54 runs in the last five overs with the batsman getting 41. He took 19 runs in the 17th over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. Yadav, who had an economical 4.50 and took one for 18, hailed the West Indian for his tenacity at the strike.
“He (Russell) played an extraordinary innings of 49. We were looking at a total of 140-145 runs but ended up with a good score of 169 thanks to the way he batted. He truly deserves the man-of-the-match,” Yadav, who had an economical 4.50 and took one wicket for 18 runs, said.
“Generally with nine wickets in hand after 10 overs you end up winning. The plan was to bat deep and I was playing positively. The credit goes to the KKR bowlers the way they bowled in the last three-four overs.” (SportsMax)
