IPL 2023: 'Not sure if I would...:' KKR's Andre Russell after getting run-out on penultimate ball against PBKS
Andre Russell scored 42 off 23 against PBKS. (Source: @KKRiders)
Andre Russell and Rinku Singh helped Kolkata Knight Riders steal a thriller against the Punjab Kings with a last-ball four. While Rinku hit the winning runs with KKR needing two to win on the final ball, it was Russell who hit three sixes in the penultimate over to bring the situation down to six off six.
Russell eventually got out on the second-last ball of the match after scoring 42 off 23. The big West Indian all-rounder jammed a wide yorker ball from Punjab's Arshdeep Singh and took off for a single but was found short by the bowler, bringing Rinku on strike.
Talking about the run-out after the match, Russell said, "I wanted to finish the game off, but we have a finisher this year in 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 on the last ball.”
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Notably, Rinku had previously won a match for his team against the defending champion Gujarat Titans in the current season only, hitting five sixes off the last five balls of the match.
Russell also acknowledged his rise and said that if there had been any other batsman on non-strike apart from Rinku, he would not have taken off for the run.
“In any other game, with any other batter, I'm not sure if I would run (a bye off the penultimate ball from Arshdeep),” Russell said at the post-match press conference. "I've never really done those things before. I would back myself to bat the last delivery and get the job done. But when you have a guy like Rinku who has been so successful in the last couple of overs for us, and when you have such a fearless player who has a shot to counter any delivery, I was definitely confident. I gave him a hug and said 'listen, bring home the bacon for us. At the end of the day, we need you at this point', and he said, 'okay big man. No worries.' Happy days," he added.
With the win, KKR entered the mid-table logjam of 10 points but rose to the fifth position on the table and PBKS now are at seventh place.
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