‘Feared for my life every ball during Andre Russell's innings,' tweets IPL star, KKR CEO gives stunning reply

Sam Billings took to Twitter to state that while standing at the non-striker’s end he was fearing for his life almost every ball with Russell muscling everything out of the park.

Kolkata Knight Riders batter Sam Billings reserved the highest praise for Andre Russell. The England batter said Russell is amongst the best in the world when in full flow. Andre Russell's unbeaten knock of 70 from 31 balls helped KKR score 141/4 in 14.3 overs in reply to PBKS 137 to register a six-wicket victory and make a mockery of the chase at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Billings took to Twitter to state that while standing at the non-striker’s end he was fearing for his life almost every ball with Russell muscling everything out of the park.

Andre Russell and Sam Billings of Kolkata Knight Riders during match 8 of the Indian Premier League 2022 cricket tournament between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Punjab Kings, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Friday, April 1, 2022.  (PTI)

“Apart from fearing for my life every ball… had the best seat in the house!” tweeted Billings, who too played a crucial innings in KKR’s victory.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore was quick to respond to Billings' tweet acknowledging his contribution in the victory.

“You played a crucial knock Sam! Well played.” tweeted Mysore.

"It's pretty relaxed, he rubbed off on me nicely there tonight. I had the best seat in the house and, what a performance by the big man. I was very lucky to be stood where I stood. I feared for my life a couple of times, as we saw, but special, special [knock] for him," said Billings in a post-match press conference.

"He's shown what a world-class performer [he is], the best in the world when he goes like that. For me, it's just about holding the game there and supporting him. He was the star and I let him play his game. For me, if he was to get out, is about taking the game deep on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers. It was just about that clarity - let him go and play his game, he can win a game as we saw in the space of five overs. Baz always kind of backed each individual to do that, and when you've got a world-class performer like that, you see the destruction he can cause," he added.