Andre Russell and Shah Rukh Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders' all-rounder Andre Russell on Tuesday reacted to franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan's apology tweet after KKR's 10-run defeat to defending champions Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Russell's record and his maiden five-wicket haul had restricted Mumbai Indians to 152, but they crumbled under pressure chasing the target, falling 10 runs short of the mark. Following the loss, Shah Rukh took to Twitter writing, "Disappointing performance. to say the least @KKRiders apologies to all the fans!"
Russell, who failed to make an impact with the bat, agreed with Shah Rukh's tweet during the post-match virtual press conference.
"Yeah, I support that (Shah Rukh Khan) tweet but at the end of the day the game of cricket... you are not sure until it's over,” Russell said.
Russell finished with 5 for 15 with the ball to become the second bowler to pick a fi-fer against Mumbai. But scored 9 off 15 with the bat.
“I think we are still confident, we still played some good cricket and I am proud of the boys. You know, we are definitely disappointed but it's not the end of the road, it's only the second game and we are going to learn from it," Russell said.
"I just think it's a game of cricket. I have played hundreds of T20 games and I have seen games where teams cruise in on the driver's seat and then suddenly lose a few wickets, new batters come in and struggle to get away and that's what happened tonight," he said.
"So, we definitely have to learn from this as I have said before. We will look to make sure that who's in, stays in and once we learn from all these mistakes that happened tonight we will definitely do better because we have a good team. I have trust and confidence in the boys," the all-rounder added.
