[Watch] Andre Russell races to a scintillating half-century with a boundary and two vintage maximums in the LAKR-WAF MLC clash

Big-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell was in a devastating mood as he smashed a boundary and two big sixes to bring up a sparkling half-century during the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) clash against the Washington Freedom (WAF) at Morrisville on Thursday, July 20.

Russell entered the crease with LAKR in disarray at 68/4 in the 11th over. Faced with resurrecting the innings, the Jamaican played with great composure through his first few deliveries to get his eye in.

The 35-year-old then went berserk from the 15th over of the innings and was particularly severe on left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar. In the 17th over of the innings, Dre-Russ smashed Netravalkar for a boundary, followed by two monstrous straight sixes en route to his half-century.

Here is a video of Russell romping to his half-century in style:

Russell finished on 70* off 37 deliveries, including six fours and as many maximums to propel LAKR to a competitive 175/7 in their 20 overs. However, his heroics went in vain as another shambolic bowling display meant that WAF chased the total comfortably by six wickets and 11 balls to spare.

The defeat meant LAKR was officially eliminated from the playoff race, suffering their fourth successive defeat. LAKR remain the only winless team in the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season.

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"Our team results are an issue" - Andre Russell

Andre Russell felt he was enjoying his batting despite admitting that the team's losing streak in their maiden MLC season is concerning. Nevertheless, Russell's heroics with the bat in the first innings earned him the Player of the Match award despite finishing on the losing side.

The talismanic all-rounder also raced ahead to the lead in the run-scoring charts for the season, with 169 runs at an average of 84.50 and a strike rate of 164.07.

"The body is good, most games in T20 you have to play with a niggle. I have perhaps played only a 100 games fully fit. We still have one game to go, we will see how things are. I'm enjoying batting, but our team results are an issue. Hope we can finish strong, finish with a win and have a glass of Orange juice for that. We still have a good unit, need to keep backing ourselves," said Russell.

Unfortunately for LAKR, Russell hasn't been effective with the ball, with his 8.2 overs in the tournament going wicketless and at an economy rate of almost 12 runs an over.

This has led to the side putting on shambolic performances with the ball in their four successive defeats. The top-order batting inconsistencies have been the other concerning area, with Russell having to produce incredible knocks to restore a semblance of sanity to the scoreboard.

LAKR will look to finish the season strong and register their first win when they take on the Seatle Orcas at Morrisville on Sunday, July 23.