ANALYSIS
Follow UsOn day one of the IPL auction in 2014, Andre Russell was one of the players unsold and his hopes of featuring in one of the most riveting franchise tournaments in the world came crashing down.
After playing only four games across two seasons for the Delhi Capitals in 2012 and the following year, Russell had a minimal impact on the tournament and the fortunes of the Delhi side.
However, on the second day of the auction, Russell found a team as the Kolkata Knight Riders acquired his services for the season. Eight years later, Andre Russell and the Kolkata Knight Riders seem like a match made in heaven as they trudged along through the ebbs and flows.
Such has been the affable equation between the two parties that in the year 2017, when the all-rounder was undergoing turmoil after being banned from all forms of cricket, the Knight Riders management helped him crawl out of the rut and get back to the game in 2018.
"To be honest, that year was the toughest year, but Venky Mysore reached out to me and said they just want me to have a peaceful year to relax my head and to actually focus on cricket," he revealed on their official website.
"Being away from the game for a year, you know a lot of people doubted that I would come back and do the same thing. Three months before the ban lifted, I went on beast mode, getting stronger, and losing weight,” he further added.
While there is no doubt that he was the mainstay of the side ever since he made his debut in the Purple and Gold jersey, his exploits in the last couple of seasons propelled the management to retain him ahead of this edition.
In the 13 league matches thus far, the 34-year-old has single-handedly shouldered the bulk of the responsibility of the side and powered the team through with the bat and the ball.
With the fortunes of the Knight Riders hanging by a thread in the extravaganza, Russell walked in to take centre-stage against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the team tottering at 94 for the loss of five wickets.
In the next eight overs that followed, the Pune crowd witnessed the Russell maniac as he enthralled the capacity crowd with his aggressive strokeplay to smash an unbeaten 49 off 28 deliveries studded with three boundaries and four massive sixes.
En route to his blistering knock, Russell joined an elite list of players in the history of the tournament to score 2000 runs and take 50 plus wickets.
With 330 runs in 11 innings at an average of 41.25 and a strike rate of 182.3, Russell is the second-highest run-scorer for the Knight Riders and has played cameos down the order amidst a lukewarm campaign for them.
Such has been his all-around prowess this season that he has been the only glimmer of hope to turn things around in a disappointing first half of the season.
In pursuit of 178, Sunrisers relied heavily on their skipper Kane Williamson to get the team off to a steady start. However, it was Russell again wreaking havoc, this time with the ball, as he scalped the massive wicket of Williamson to jolt the opposition in the powerplay.
He returned with the ball at the death to pick two more wickets and draw curtains to a dismal outing for the Orange Army. One of the talking points in this edition has been the bowling of the Knight Riders and their lack of ability to create inroads.
And guess what, it is that man again, Russell, who scalped wickets at regular intervals to become the leading wicket-taker for the side with 17 wickets at an average of 13.7 and a strike rate of 8.9.
While the chances of the Knight Riders making it to the final four of the competition remain slim, Russell and the fans at the Eden Gardens, the venue for the playoffs, will hope to see their hero donning the Purple and Gold after a two-year hiatus.
"That keeps me going. And it brings out the fire inside. The loud cheer, even before I face the first ball when I start running onto the crease, those vibes are unreal,” Russell shared insights on the crowd on the franchise website.
Well, there ain't any doubt about the crowd and the atmosphere at the Eden Gardens, as it is fair to say, they would be waiting eagerly to welcome their favourite player.
However, the Knights have a couple of hurdles to overcome in their final league match against Lucknow and would want their most prolific player to fire yet again and materialise his dream of playing back in front of the frenzy fans at the Eden Gardens.
