We do not get to see bowling figures of 4-0-20-4 in T20 cricket quite often. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell finished with such figures, which helped the Knight Riders register their sixth win of IPL 2016, against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
The two-time champions made it two in two against KXIP in IPL 2016. With this win, the Shahrukh Khan co-owned side have occupied top spot in the points table.
Russell was adjudged the man of the match for his outstanding performance with the ball against KXIP.
He played a crucial role with the bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as well on Monday, and now Russell proved his worth with the ball against KXIP. Russell credited other bowlers who ably assisted him as well.
Watch the highlights of the match here.
"The last game against RCB, me and Yusuf did well. But this match was important too and we bowled like champions. Our batters have been doing the job most of the time and we had been letting them down earlier," Russell was quoted as saying by PTI.
"But we proved ourselves tonight. We were trying to get 180 but their bowlers bowled yorkers very well. But we knew 160 was defendable on this ground. We had to bowl to our field, build pressure and take wickets."
He is just the kind of all-rounder that a captain will want in his side in this format of the game. Russell can bowl at serious pace and he also can tonk the ball out of the park with ease as an when needed. On top of that, he is also a good fielder.
The West Indian is undoubtedly one of the best all-rounders in the world currently and one will agree that he is best suited to the shortest format of the game.
KKR have now won two games in a row and will be confident before their next match, against Gujarat Lions on Sunday at the same venue.
