“Hope Dre is okay”: Eoin Morgan hopeful of Andre Russell to be injury-free ahead of Delhi Capitals clash

Andre Russell: The all-rounder from Kolkata Knight Riders had an exhausting day on the field at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan didn’t find faults with his team losing a last-ball thriller against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi earlier today.

Instead, Morgan was wax lyrical about Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who hit two sixes and two fours in the penultimate over to hand a substantial advantage to reduce the equation to needing just four runs in the last over.

“Both sides batted well. Both bowled really well. Can’t fault anything from our side. The second half of the tournament has been a lot of positives for our side.

“When [Ravindra] Jadeja plays like that, similar to Sam Curran for England, I don’t think there’s a lot to do,” Morgan was quoted as saying by Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Eoin Morgan hopeful of Andre Russell to be injury-free ahead of Delhi Capitals clash

Having lost six and won four out of their 10 matches this season, Knight Riders are at the fourth position on the points table. In what was their first loss of the second leg, Morgan and his men have been quite clinical in UAE so far.

KKR, who will have to improve further to stake a claim for a position in the playoffs, would be pondering about all-rounder Andre Russell’s fitness especially after he wasn’t on the field in the last phase of this match.

In addition to scoring 20 (15) in the first innings, Russell registered bowling figures of 3-0-28-1 in the second. However, bowling three overs in a row on a hot afternoon caused quite a lot of discomfort to the 33-year old player.

Russell, who returned to the field after a brief break in the dugout, caused himself more harm whilst saving a boundary in the 17th over. Post saving a couple of runs for Kolkata, Russell was struggling with pain outside the boundary rope. While the exact nature of injury remains unknown, Russell appeared to have some issue with his heel and didn’t take any further part in the match.

“[if a fit Andre Russell would’ve bowled the 19th over] It’s difficult to say. I think, in that situation, you obviously need wickets. Sunil [Narine] is obviously a great option. So is Dre [Andre Russell]. We hope Dre is okay,” Morgan added.

Kolkata are scheduled to play their next match against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah on September 28.