Kolkata Knight Riders' all-rounder Andre Russell revisited his 13-ball 48-run innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore during the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday. Russell's innings led KKR to a phenomenal victory as they chased down a 206-run target.
Russell arrived at the crease with KKR's score at 139/4 in 15.4 overs. The side eventually chased the target with five balls to spare.
Revisiting the innings, Russell revealed that he was only focussed on hitting the delivery. He didn't worry about the scoreboard.
"DK (Dinesh Karthik) looked at me and said ‘Big man, what are you thinking?' and I told DK, 'all I'm thinking about is boundaries' So DK gets one boundary or two and then he gets out," said Russell.
"He hit the ball, and he got caught (by Yuzvendra Chahal at midwicket). (RCB captain) Virat Kohli turned towards the stands where all the wives and KKR supporters were sitting, and he shouted something like ‘Come on!'"
Russell further recalled that he told Shubman Gill, the next batsman, to only give him the strike.
"When Shubman Gill walked out (at No.7), I said 'hey listen, I'm gonna take down anybody that bowls. Anyone that comes on, I'm going to take them down tonight, so just try and give me as much strike as possible.' He said, ‘anything you say big man'," said Russell.
"Every time I hit a six, I wasn't even looking at the scoreboard, because sometimes you can get carried away with the crowd and everything.
"After I hit the ball, I would walk up to Shubman, we do a glove-punch, and I would go back to my crease and take as deep a breath as possible. That allows me to be calm.
"I don't look at the field, I react to whatever ball is bowled, and I hit. If I find the gap, great. It's a happy day. But most of the time, I'm looking to go over the fielders' heads. Once the bowler bowls the ball, good or bad, I hit it high. That's my mindset right throughout."
(With inputs from IANS)
