It was a challenging wicket to bat on: Russell

Needing 31 to win off the last five overs with six wickets in hand, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fell short by 10 runs against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Chennai. KKR all-rounder Andre Russell, who picked up his maiden T20 fifer in just two overs, could not get going, managing just nine off 15 deliveries with the bat. He said that the Chepauk wicket was a challenging one and not one where the batsmen could get going right from the first ball. 

"It's a difficult wicket to bat on, it was not easy for a new batter to come in and start hitting from ball one. It's very challenging," Russell, who got out for nine off 15 balls, said at the post-match virtual interaction.

"Even for me, the ball was a bit up and down so it's not the easiest pitch to hit on. No matter how good you are, you still need a couple of balls to actually get your eyes in.

"Unfortunately, a good finisher like myself and DK, we didn't get bat to balls. I think if we did get a few boundaries the game would be over. We definitely feel disappointed but at the end of the day, it's not the end of the road. It's our second game," he added.

The burly West Indian struggled to get runs against Krunal Pandya and even got a reprieve when the spinner dropped a catch off his own bowling.  "We don't try to do the wrong thing all the time, but it just happened you know. It's bat and ball, sometimes it goes your way sometimes it doesn't...I was looking to rotate the strike, not allow too many dot balls. I didn't get any runs and that added a bit of pressure on me," he admitted.

Russell, however, remains confident that his team will learn from their mistakes bounce back in the next game.  "We're gonna go back to the drawing board. We definitely are playing some good cricket as a team. It's about moving on from this game and going from strength to strength."

"It's a game of cricket. We definitely have to learn from this. I've trust and confidence in the boys. We are still confident, we are still playing some good cricket, and I'm proud of the boys," Russell said.

KKR play Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their next game on Sunday (April 18), which will bring an end to their Chennai leg of the tournament