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Updated April 14th, 2021 at 11:29 IST

IPL 2021: Andre Russell explains why it was hard to bat on Chennai pitch, admits fault

Andre Russell has said that Chennai wicket is very difficult to bat on as it is not easy for a new batter to come in and start hitting from the very first ball.

Reported by: Vishal Tiwari
IPL 2021: Andre Russell explains why it was hard to bat on Chennai pitch, admits fault
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell has said that Chennai wicket is very difficult to bat on as it is not easy for a new batter to come in and start hitting from the very first ball. Russell, who is considered one of the finest strikers of the ball in world cricket, said even for him it was not easy to bat on the wicket as he was struggling to hit the ball from the get-go. Russell, in the post-match press conference, said that batsmen still require a couple of balls to get going on the pitch no matter how good they are. The West Indies all-rounder, however, admitted that the game was their's to finish with a couple of boundaries. 

Kolkata's debacle

Russell, who took five wickets from just two overs that he bowled, couldn't score enough to help his team cross the line. Russell scored 9 off 15 balls at a strike rate of just 60.00, very low for a player of his caliber. Kolkata botched up the chase after the 15th over as until then they were cruising comfortably and were favourites to win the game. At one stage in the game, Kolkata needed just 31 off 30 balls with Russell and Dinesh Karthik in the middle. However, both players failed to hit the ball for a boundary and the game started slipping from their hands as Mumbai Indians made an amazing comeback with the help of their bowlers. 

Kolkata was 72-0 until the 9th over before Shubman Gill was dismissed by Rahul Chahar and the Eoin Morgan-led side were handed their first setback. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and after Russell was sent back to the pavilion in the final over by Trent Boult, the game was over for Kolkata. Except for Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill, who scored 57 and 33 respectively, no other batsmen from the Kolkata line-up could get a double-digit score. Rahul Chahar took four wickets for Mumbai from the four overs that he bowled and gave away just 27 balls. 

Kolkata's batting garnered a lot of criticism, including from former cricketers and experts, who called out KKR's lower-order batsmen for failing to chase the low total. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag and West Indies great Brian Lara are amongst the people who have slammed Kolkata's batting line-up for the debacle. 

(Image Credit: IPL)
 

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Published April 14th, 2021 at 11:29 IST

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