Bermuda: Kolkata Knight Riders fans can never forget the night in 2018, when KKR narrowly missed out on an IPL final after Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 13 runs to enter the finals.
Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell recalled the time in 2018 when KKR lost the 2nd qualifier at Eden Gardens. “When I got out to Rashid Khan, I got back to my room and went into shower immediately with my cricket clothes on, My shoes and everything was wet. I was just there with the water running all over me because it was basically the last opportunity for KKR for the season,” Andre Russell said in a video shared by KKR on YouTube.
Chasing 175 for victory, Shubman Gill batted brilliantly to take the game till the last over when 19 runs were needed off six balls. After Chris Lynn and Dinesh Karthik got out in quick it was only Russell. He walked in when KKR needed 57 runs off 33 balls. However, his stay was very short-spanned as he got out for just 3 runs (off 7 balls), leaving the chase at the mercy of the lower order. They did everything but just could not get past Rashid Khan.
Soon after Rashid took Gill’s catch as KKR finished on 161/9 in 20 overs.
“I didn’t get out being Dre Russ. I started to overthink the game. That was actually a ball I could have put away, and that’s the moment where I knew I had messed up. If I was still batting at the back end, we would have won comfortably.”
Remembering the horrific incident the 33 year old said that he would have been very embarrassed if anyone seen him taking a shower with his clothes on. The all-rounder went on saying that he learned a lesson from the match to keep the bowler on the back foot by playing some explosive shots.
“I was just disappointed with myself. That’s why I went into the shower with everything wet. I was happy that no one saw me that way because it was embarrassing. People would have been like ‘Are you losing it?.’ What i realized from that match was if a bowler feels you are scared to lift your bat, they are gonna be all over you. You have to back off a bowler by playing shots sometimes,” the explosive all-rounder added.
Russell, who made his debut in T20 cricket back in 2010 has played 81 matches in his overall IPL career. The 33-year-old played a crucial role in lifting IPL trophy with KKR in 2014. His consistency in the game made him one of the best and popular cricketer in the cash-rich League. He is now among the top 50 run-makers in the history of the tournament.
