Twitter Reactions: Andre Russell's thunderous knock breaks the jail for KKR

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) found themselves in trouble during various stages of the encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the end, a batsman named Andre Russell came to the party and helped his team snatch defeat from the jaws of defeat. The Knights needed 34 in the last two overs and the home team won the encounter by six wickets.

Warner dictates terms

The Knights’ decision to field first after winning the toss didn’t quite work out for them as David Warner and Jonny Bairstow laid into their batting. The duo compiled a partnership of 118 runs for the first wicket in 77 deliveries. Warner made his comeback game a memorable one with a knock of 85 runs from 53 balls. The left-hander’s knock was laced with nine boundaries and three sixes.

Bairstow, on the other hand, looked a tad jittery, but even he came up with a handy 39 from 35 balls in his debut match in the IPL. Andre Russel nipped out Warner to break the stand. He also dismissed Yusuf Pathan. However, Vijay Shankar didn’t die wondering and churned out 40 useful runs, batting at three, with two fours and as many over-boundaries. SRH ended with 181 in their 20 overs.

Russell destroys the Sunrisers

The run-chase didn’t start on a happy note as Shakib Al Hasan, who celebrated his 32nd birthday and also had the privilege of ringing the bell before the match, got rid of the dangerous Chris Lynn in the second over. Thereafter, Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana put their heads down and added 80 runs together. The partnership was broken by Siddarth Kaul, who scored 35 from 27 balls.

Nevertheless, Rana went on to notch a half-century in 35 balls, but he still had a fair amount to do as the required-rate mounted at an alarming rate. Dinesh Karthik was the third wicket to fall to Sandeep Sharma. Rashid Khan dismissed Rana after he scored 68 runs. Then came in Russell and turned the game on its head with a knock of 49 runs from 19 balls. Shubman Gill also chipped in with 18 from 10 balls.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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