Andre Russell
Mumbai Indians boasted of daunting death-over batting numbers over the last few seasons, but in their first two matches, their lethal attack with the bat has faltered immensely against some terrific bowling in the final phase of the innings. On April 9 it was RCB's Harshal Patel who knocked down Mumbai's batting lineup to record the first-ever five-wicket haul against the franchise. And on Tuesday, he was joined by Kolkata Knight Riders' Andre Russell, with his astounding 5 for 15 in just two overs.
Introduced in the 18th over of the game, Russell dismissed both Kieron Pollard and Marco Jansen before picking the wicket of Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar in the final over to complete his first five-wicket haul in IPL career.
5 for 15 is now the best figure by a bowler against Mumbai Indians surpassing Harshal's 5 for 27 picked at the same venue. The figure is also the best figure recorded at the venue and also the best for Kolkata Knight Riders, going past Sunil Narine's 5 for 19 recorded back in 2012.
"I have been working very hard behind the scenes, taking the responsibility. There's a possibility of going for runs (in the death over), but there's always a chance to take wickets. I always keep stretching in the field and jogging around, you got to be ready in the 18th over. Bowling against Hardik and Pollard is always a difficult thing, happy we could restrict them. It's always good to get Polly (Pollard) out early, we all know what he can do," said Russell at the end of the innings.
Russell's heroics helped KKR restrict Mumbai to 152 runs.
