If Andre Russell was the start performer for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match against the Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens, the same West Indies allrounder was seen holding his head in shame after his team lost against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday.
The RCB needed 12 runs from the last when Russell was given the ball. But Mandeep Singh had other plans. He actually played a blinder to win the match for his team by seven wickets. Russell, too, played a very important knock for KKR while batting first.
He made a superb 45 off just 17 deliveries and helped KKR to make 111 for four in a rain-curtailed 10-over a side match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. The West Indies all-rounder now also has a very healthy batting average of 57.50. So far, Russell has made 230 runs from six innings, which included two fifties
Like Russell, Mandeep also played a 45-run knock off just 18 balls. The Punjab middle-order batsman came to the crease after RCB lost AB de Villiers and was in control of things from the very beginning.
His knock against KKR showed that RCB wasn’t banking on their star cricketers all the time. After Sarfaraz Khan made a huge against the Rajasthan Royals, this match probably saw the birth of another big hitter in Mandeep.
With four wins from eight matches, RCB are placed convincingly in the top half of the points table. After playing the IPL final way back in 2009 season in South Africa under the aegis of Anil Kumble, this team is really progressing well to be in the IPL play-off.
Despite losing this match, KKR is not far behind in the competition. They have four wins from nine encounters and will be eyeing to make the most of the last five games in their league matches. They are the defending champions and so can’t be taken lightly.
