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The combination of Andre Russell with the ball and Rinku Singh on the field produced a dream end to the first innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday. The Gujarat Titans (GT), despite scoring 156/9, will feel they might be 10-15 runs short on what looks like a dry but decent wicket to bat on.
The big all-rounder from West Indies was introduced into the attack in the 20th over by Shreyas Iyer. It was a brave move since Russell hadn't bowled in the game before. However, he proved why he is almost equally valuable to the team with the ball, conceding just five runs and picking up four wickets.
Rinku Singh also had a great day on the field, taking four catches, including three off Andre Russell's bowling in the final over. Fans on Twitter were captivated to see both Russell and Rinku do well and here are some of the reactions:
Andre Russell applied brakes to GT's run-scoring in 20th over
Hardik Pandya was back in the side and the GT skipper made an interesting decision to bowl first as the pitch looked a bit dry on Saturday. Shubman Gill once again failed to get going, getting strangled down the leg-side to a delivery bowled by Tim Southee.
Pandya walked out to bat at No. 3 and took control of the powerplay with Wriddhiman Saha. The experienced wicket-keeper gradually lost his timing and was dismissed in the end for a run-a-ball 25. After his heroics in the last game, David Miller was promoted to No. 4.
The move seemed to work for the Titans as the left-hander along with the skipper took the attack to the KKR spinners. Both Narine and Chakravarthy went wicketless in their combined seven overs and GT looked set to score around the 170-run mark.
However, just as Miller looked to tee off, he was dismissed by Shivam Mavi. Southee also proved why he deserved a place in the XI by picking up the big wickets of Pandya and Rashid Khan in his final over.
The wheels just came off for the Titans in the end, thanks to some brilliant bowling by Andre Russell and fine catching from Rinku Singh in the deep.
KKR might fancy their chances of getting to the target. But with Rashid Khan in the GT ranks and a dry pitch on offer, it could be anyone's game.
