Andre Russell and Shubman Gill partnership: Twitter was amazed at Knight Riders’ astounding victory over SRH at Eden Gardens.
During the second match of the 12th season of the ongoing Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets. It was a game-changing 65-run partnership between Andre Russell and Shubman Gill which saw KKR seal the chase in am emphatic manner.
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Chasing a 182-run target, the hosts sent a surprising opening pair in Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana. With the former getting out cheaply in the second over, Rana and veteran batsman Robin Uthappa (35) stitched an 80-run stand to lay down a platform for the Knight Riders.
What followed were a few overs which saw the visiting bowlers restrict the run-flow and dismiss Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik (2) and Rana (68). Requiring 59 runs from the last four overs, it seemed difficult for the Knight Riders to win their season opener. Hyderabad captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar giving away just five runs in his third over reduced the equation to 53 runs in three overs.
Russell and Gill change things for KKR
However, it was Russell who changed the course of the match on his own. After scoring 19 runs off Siddarth Kaul, Russell scored 21 off Bhuvneshwar in the penultimate over of the match. Having scored three fours and four sixes in a couple of overs, KKR needed 13 runs in the last over.
It was Gill who joined the party in the last over as he hit Hyderabad all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for two sixes in the last over to seal the chase for his team. Russell, who had come in to bat at No. 5, ended up scoring 49* (19) with the help of four fours and four sixes. Gill, on the other hand, scored 18* (10) with the help of two sixes.
After being put in to bat at Karthik, Sunrisers Hyderabad had scored 181-3 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Opening batsman David Warner, who was making a comeback after a year, top-scored for his team scoring 85 (53) with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
How Twitter reacted:
WHAT A KNOCK by DRE RUSS! 🔥🔥🔥#KKRvSRH #VIVOIPL #KKRHaiTaiyaar pic.twitter.com/t5pQWzCbnF
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 24, 2019
Incredible from Andre Russell. The scariest finisher in T20 cricket. And Vijay Shankar of India, who bowls, goes back to being the Vijay Shankar of the IPL who doesn’t.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 24, 2019
What a chase!
Russell incredible.— Kausthub45 (@kauSTats) March 24, 2019
Showing his muscles 💪 @Russell12A What a knock @IPL #SRHvKKR well done @RealShubmanGill
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 24, 2019
Dre Russ !!! 👀👀 & @RealShubmanGill 👀👀 … #IPL2019 The young lad is going to be some player …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 24, 2019
For me this Andre Russell is the #universeboss#KKRvSRH #IPL2019
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 24, 2019
Extraordinary turnaround at the Eden through Andre Russell’s blazing bat. Gill finishing match with two soaring sixes was icing on the cake for KKR.
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 24, 2019
A match winning knock off Russell’s bat and KKR win by 6 wickets.
We’ll be back stronger, #OrangeArmy!#KKRvSRH #RiseWithUs
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 24, 2019
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