In an intense encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals of IPL 2025, Andre Russell returned to his power-hitting form to bail out KKR with a firebrand innings of 57 not out off 25 deliveries at Eden Gardens. West Indian all-rounder broke out of a sluggish beginning to come up with one of the most destructive innings of IPL 2025.
Andre Russell Beats Poor Form to Deliver in Pressure Situations
Faced with immense pressure as he walked onto the field for the match, Andre Russell had also struggled to find form in IPL 2025. Through his opening 7 innings in 10 games, Russell had collected just 72 runs, going past double figures in just six of them. With KKR’s playoff fate hanging precariously in the balance, the defending champions were hoping for a turnaround, and Russell gave it to them.
A Tale of Two Phases: From 2 off 9 to Fifty off 22
Russell’s performance started slowly. Coming in during the 13th over, he gave himself time to settle and could muster only 2 runs off his initial 9 balls. But then, in a dramatic change of pace, he bludgeoned his half-century off just 22 balls, scoring an unbeaten 57 runs that contained 4 fours and 6 humongous sixes.
Key Moments of Russell’s Innings:
Battled in the early over,s facing 0 from his first 5 balls. He unlocked the scoring in the 16th over against the bowling of Akash Mahdwal with a four and then proceeded to blast three consecutive sixes off Maheesh Theekshana. Added two sixes off of Jofra Archer and Akash Madhwal. Scored 55 runs off his last sixteen balls
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KKR Smash 85 Runs in Last 5 Overs
The Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals match saw the power hitters’ dominance in the death overs. Russell’s fireworks, KKR hit 85 runs from the last 5 overs to lift their score to 206/4. Supported by Rinku Singh’s 19* off only 6 balls (2 sixes, 1 four) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi: Scored 44 runs to stabilize the innings.
Rajasthan Royals’ Bowling Falters Under Pressure
Bowling performance of RR bolwers
Akash Madhwal: 3 overs, 50 runs conceded
Yudhvir Singh Charak: 2 overs, 26 runs
Jofra Archer: 4 overs, 30 runs
Maheesh Theekshana: Torn apart by Russell in the 18th over
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