Did 300 push-ups every two days when I was home: KKR's Andre Russell after match-winning knock

Andre Russell is one cricketer who can demolish not just opponents but also their psyche. The Caribbean basher is injury prone but on his days, he is an unstoppable cyclone. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were unfortunate to witness glimpses of that cyclone on Sunday when the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) giant snatched the Indian Premier League (IPL) game from their grasp in the death overs.

The KKR required 53 runs to win the game from the last three overs and Russell made it look a cakewalk, smacking 49 not out in just 19 balls to see his side home with two balls to spare. When the 18th over began, he was on 7 off nine deliveries.

The 30-year-old stalwart of T20 cricket was ecstatic with the way the KKR started their campaign in IPL 2019 against tough opposition. The 2018 finalists scored a challenging total of 181 for 3, thanks to 53-ball 85 by the comeback man, David Warner.

But Russell, who took two of the three wickets, including that of Warner, came into the party with his pyrotechnics at No.5, hitting four huge sixes besides as many boundaries and the Knights won by six wickets. He did not care for the bowler’s reputation and hit them, including SRH skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with elan.

After rescuing his team from a little batting collapse and winning it, Andre Russell spoke to the team-mate Robin Uthappa who also had a good game (35 off 27) in a post-match chat for the IPL website and therein, he revealed that he does 300 push-ups whenever he feels bored in his hotel room! He also showed his bulging biceps to Uthappa who was clearly wow-ed.

“Well, not now [push-ups]. When I was bored, I was doing 300 push-ups every few days. That got me interested. We had a good night out and I am excited the way we have started the season,” the Jamaican said when talking about his ability to hit the big shots at will. In T20s, Russell has a strike-rate of 167 above.

Injury prone Russell

Andre Russell although has been playing for the KKR over the years, he has often been hit by injury, stopping him from participating in the tournament for the entire stretch. In 2018, he played the most number of games in the IPL – 16 – scoring 316 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 184 plus.

There were also doubts over his participation in this year’s season as he has remained bogged down by a knee injury over the last 10 months. He missed the Windies tour of India last year and returned to the national team in the recent ODI series against England at home only to not play due to the injured knee.

Here are five players who could possibly be playing their last IPL:

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.