IPL 2022: Very Few Guys Who Can Do Special Things And Andre Russell Is One Of Them - Tim Southee

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Tim Southee lavished praise on all-rounder, Andre Russell, following another match-winning performance from the West Indies player against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Russell came in with KKR struggling at 94/5 and helped them get to 177/6 with his 28-ball 49. He then ended with excellent figures of 3/22 to bag the Player of the Match award and help KKR win by 54 runs.

“He (Russell) has been tremendous throughout the whole tournament and has been good for such a long period of time not only with the bat but with the ball as well.”

“There are a few guys around the world that can do special things and Andre Russell’s one of those guys. He thrives on those moments and more times than not, he turns in a performance that the team needs,” Southee stated.

At 94/5, the onus was on Russell to help KKR to a good score. The wicket wasn’t the easiest to bat on so Russell took his time. He smashed three sixes off the last three balls of the innings to provide the momentum.

“We thought we had a pretty good score on the board. We played here a couple of months ago and felt the wicket was similar. We were on the receiving end of a similar result when we got bowled out in the second innings.”

“We knew that if we could apply pressure, the run rate climbed, and then we could continue taking wickets that way. It was another good bowling performance by us. We have bowled pretty well throughout the tournament as well,” Southee went on to add.

“It’s not over till it’s over” – Tim Southee on KKR’s playoff chances

Southee said that his team still believes that anything can happen in the remaining games. Currently, KKR is in 6th place with 6 wins and 7 losses. They depend on other results to go their way in order to secure a top-4 finish.

“Every game is a must-win game for us. We have got one game left. I think it helps that in the last two games we have had, we had very convincing wins and that just shows the nature of the tournament that tends to happen the majority of the years.”

“We get to that stage of the tournament with a number of sides still able to make that final play-off spot. It’s what makes this tournament great. It’s not over till it’s over,” he concluded.

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