Birthday Boy Andre Russell Shines on his 'Special' IPL Match With Fiery Knock
Russell smashed GT with his 34* off 19 balls (AP Photo)
Against Gujarat Titans, the explosive Andre Russell chose to regain his mojo as he played his first fine knock of the season. Following Rahmanullah Gurbaz's maverick 81, Russell studded a fiery 19-Ball 34* to take Kolkata Knight Riders' score to 179-7 at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Before this match, the power-packed West Indies all-rounder struggled to find his form with the bat; however, he chose to return with runs on a special occasion of his 35th birth anniversary and 100th IPL fixture for his beloved franchise, KKR.
Interestingly, the ongoing game isn't just special for the KKR all-rounder, but his captain Nitish Rana, Rashid Khan and GT's mentor Ashish Nehra also have something or the other to celebrate today. The proceeding clash is Rashid and Rana's 100th IPL game; meanwhile, the World Cup-winning seamer has turned 44 today.
Russell's journey in IPL
Overall, the West Indian has played 107 games in the lucrative, donning Delhi's jersey before migrating to Kolkata in 2014 and winning an IPL silverware with the two-time champions.
In the IPL, Russ has amassed 2157 runs at a blustering strike rate of 175.37, with 185 sixes and 144 boundaries to his name in the tournament. Apart from that, he has also snapped 94 wickets with his medium-pace bowling.
In a rain-interrupted game, Hardik Pandya's Titans won the toss, electing to bowl first in the reverse fixture, after losing the last match they played against KKR to Rinku Singh's miraculous innings.
In Jason Roy's absence, Gurbaz and Narayan Jagadeesan got the Knights off to a flyer before the middle order lost the plot. Still, the finishing touches from Dre Russ and David Weise have taken the home team to a respectable score.
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