NEW DELHI: It was business as usual for
Andre Russell
as Kolkata Knight Riders batter launched his campaign at the
IPL 2024
with a whirlwind knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad at
Eden Gardens
in Kolkata on Saturday.
Russell unleashed his fury with an unbeaten 25-ball 64, featuring seven towering sixes and three fours to propel KKR to a massive 208/7.
During the process, the right-handed Russell also completed 200 sixes in the IPL in 97 innings, becoming the ninth batter overall to achieve the feat in the tournament's history.
West Indies legend Chris Gayle sits atop the list with 357 sixes to his name in 141 innings followed by Rohit Sharma (257 sixes in 238 innings) and AB de Villiers (251 sixes in 170 innings)
Russell took on Markande with a flurry of powerful shots, sending the SRH leg-spinner deep into the stands with three sixes in just five balls.
Markande for a moment thought that he had the last laugh when Aiden Markram took a blinder at long-on but replays showed he grounded the forward diving catch, giving Russell a breather on 20.
Russell was in no mood to spare Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as in the 19th over, the pacer was smoked for two fours and two sixes, 26 runs in total.
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