‘I was very emotional, didn’t know how to face my teammates’ – Andre Russell on sitting dejected on the staircase in KKR vs CSK match

When Andre Russell came to bat against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday, April 21, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needed to score 189 runs in 15 overs at a required rate of 12.60 with six wickets in hand. Thereafter, the Jamaican saw Rahul Tripathi getting out with the Knights getting reduced to 31 for five in 5.2 overs. Chasing 221, KKR found themselves way behind the 8-ball.

However, Russell didn’t throw in the towel and went berserk from the outset. The Caribbean veteran hammered his way to a 22-ball 54 with three fours and as many as six sixes. But against the run of play left-arm fast bowler, Sam Curran picked his prized scalp in a rather bizarre manner. Russell saw his stumps being rattled after he left alone a delivery on the leg-side.

Thereafter, he was seen, sitting on the staircase with his heads down. He looked dejected as the Men in Gold and Purple went on to lose the game by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Talking about the same, Russell said that he was disappointed and couldn’t gather the courage to face his teammates.

I wanted to take the team over the line: Andre Russell

“Well, I was very emotional and I didn’t know how to go to the changing room and face all my teammates after leaving a ball and getting out bowled like that. You know, the job is not complete, and I wanted to take the team over the line. So, I think the emotions got the best of me but staying strong,” Russell was quoted as saying in kkr.in.

“Once I’m there, you know everything is possible. Yeah, I’ve done it before a lot of times. So, fans can know that listen, no doubt even when it’s 100 runs in 20 balls, there’s always a possibility of 20 sixes; who knows?” he added.

Apart from Russell, former KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins tried their hearts out. Even as Karthik got a 24-ball 40, Cummins stayed unbeaten on 66 off 34 balls with four fours and six sixes. However, their efforts went in vain as the Knights were bowled out for 202 five balls short of their 20 overs.