Playing without fear, Dre Russ style
With Rinku Singh proving to be an all-season finisher, Andre Russell didn’t have to sweat over hitting the winning runs against Punjab Kings
Very rarely do captains blurt out their relief at a piece of the puzzle finally falling into place. But Andre Russell can do that to you.
One of the longest-retained players in the history of the IPL, Russell is many skills rolled into one but if you had to pick one, it has to be his ability to conjure up sixes. He hit three on Monday, at the exact juncture when Kolkata Knight Riders needed relief from a pressing asking rate.
“Ten matches have gone, and we were all waiting for that one Russell innings to come,” KKR captain Nitish Rana said after the win. “We knew he was one innings away. And I kept telling him ‘You have done a lot, and you will 100% win us a game’.”
Russell didn’t hit the winning runs though. Against Arshdeep Singh who was tightening the screws one ball at a time in the final over that began with KKR needing six from six, getting dismissed off the penultimate ball could have spelt the endgame for KKR in any other season. But now they have Rinku Singh.
“I wanted to finish the game off, but we have a finisher this year in Rinku,” said Russell at the presentation ceremony. “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.”
The Jamaican later elaborated on how the batting dynamics had changed with Rinku’s rise.
“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 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."
Among the many things that went right for KKR on Monday night was the timing of Russell’s entry. With Rinku exuding calm at the other end, Russell was freed of the gnawing obligation to single-handedly win the match for KKR. He doesn’t take off immediately so 65 from 38 balls was just about perfect for Russell to nudge a few singles, settle down a bit and then look for the big shots.
And Punjab Kings too had played the wrong hand by bowling out Rahul Chahar despite Russell’s well-documented weakness against spinners. With Arshdeep and Sam Curran—both left-arm pacers—bowling the last three overs, Russell could back himself to target the boundaries.
Needing 36 in 18, KKR got 10 runs off Arshdeep. Which meant Russell had to go after Curran in the 19th over. Two half-volleys outside leg-stump were whipped over deep midwicket before Curran overcorrected and went slow, short and wide, prompting Russell to rock back and hit a six over point. That onslaught tilted the match in KKR’s favour, largely because Russell had been able to anticipate Curran’s response.
“Sam Curran was trying to bowl into my body so that I hit the big side of the boundary, that was their plan," he said. "I hit him for two sixes over the big side but as a bowler, because I think like a bowler too, so I knew he wasn't going to bowl in that area again. The short ball that he bowled, I missed out on it, but when he bowled the slower cutter into the wicket, I just gave myself that little room and just used my hands to get it over the field.
"He didn't have any third man, it was the short side, and that wasn't part of their team plan. But when you conquer a team's bowling plan, then their Plan B is in the batter's zone most of the time. So T20 is tough and you have to make sure you, as bowlers and batters, stay calm in any situation."
