Twitter Reactions: Andre Russell's 19-ball 65-run blitz leads Kings to victory in five-over shootout against Gladiators

A match between two power packed sides had to again suffer to the hands of rain in the ongoing LPL. The Galle Gladiators and the Colombo Kings are probably two sides with some of the biggest hitters in their line-ups. Fans were eagerly waiting for this match to see which team would finish on top.

However, the rain gods did not want this to happen. The constant rain ensured that we could get ourselves a game of only five overs a side. Nevertheless, the batting display we witnessed was definitely worth the wait. The Gladiators won the toss and opted to bowl first. A five-over encounter meant that both teams sent their power hitters in to bat.

For the Kings, the big hitting Andre Russell opened alongside T de Silva. The former who had been a big let down in the recently concluded IPL finally came to the party. He scored an unbeaten 65 in just 19 deliveries. He reached his fifty in just 14 balls. His magnificent knock included nine boundaries and four sixes. Laurie Evans too played a supporting hand as he scored 21 runs in just 10 balls.

The King’s finished with 96 runs at the end of their fiver overs thanks to a special batting effort. When the opponent scores 96 runs in five overs you don’t expect any bowler to have good figures. That is exactly what happened with the Gladiators. Perhaps their best bowler Mohammad Amir had to bear the maximum brunt. He went for 46 runs in the two overs he bowled.

Galle Gladiators fail to chase down the mammoth total

Coming to the chase, their batsmen tried their best but they could only manage to score 62 runs in their five overs. Ashan Priyanjan came up with a special effort as he conceded only 1 run in his over while also getting the wicket of Hazratullah Zazai.

Danushka Gunathilaka scored 30 runs in 15 balls while Afridi and Azam Khan chipped in with a few runs. They eventually fell well short of the target. It’s not often that we see teams win by 34 runs in a game of just five overs. Andre Russell was awarded man of the match for the brilliant inning that he played.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: