IPL 2023: Nitish Rana hails Andre Russell as 'special' as KKR trumps PBKS in final-ball thriller

Former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Nitish Rana was happy big power hitter Andre Russell had finally come to the party this Indian Premier League (IPL) season, saying he kept "backing" the Jamaican knowing that a match-winning innings was round the corner. KKR defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets, chasing down the 180-run winning target off the last ball of the innings, with Russell scoring a 23-ball 43 studded with three fours and as many maximums.

Russell punished PBKS quick Sam Curran in the penultimate over of the innings, hitting the England bowler for three sixes before the West Indian was run out, leaving Rinku Singh to score the winning runs. Rinku smashed a boundary of the last ball to win the match for KKR. "Ten matches have gone. We were all waiting for that one Russell innings to come. He was one innings away. I kept backing him, saying you have done a lot, and you will 100 per cent win us a game," said Nitish Rana.

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Rana also conceded he was angry with his bowlers conceding runs in the last couple of overs to let PBKS score a competitive 179/7. "This pitch was a feeling of home advantage as well. Our bowlers bowled severely to the death. I was angry that we conceded that many because this was a 160-165 run wicket," he added.

PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan lamented the lack of a quality off-spinner in his side, though leg-spinner Rahul Chahar did bowl a tight spell. "I feel that we don't have a good off-spinner. When left-handers come, we have a leg-spinner from one end, and at the other, we have a left-arm spinner [Harpreet Brar]. So, that's where I feel we are leaking a bit of run. This wicket was also offering turn, so I feel that's where we took the hit," said Shikhar.

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Dhawan did sound dejected now that they are staring at relegation. "Not feeling that great. We lost the game, and it was not an easy track to bat on, and I think we put on a good total. In the end, they played well. It was a great, phenomenal effort from Arshdeep [Singh] and how he bounced back from the last game. All credit goes to him. It was quite interesting that he took the game to the last ball, which was good," concluded Shikhar.

(With inputs from PTI)