Blistering Russell spoils Gambhir’s return to Eden
West Indian hits 41 off 12 balls to help KKR beat Gambhirled Daredevils by 71 runs
KOLKATA: This was supposed to be an evening when Gautam Gambhir came ‘home’ but if Eden Gardens went ra-ra, it wasn’t because of the short visit of the man responsible for Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) spectacular turnaround in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but because of what Nitish Rana and Andre Russell did. And when Shivam Mavi surprised Gambhir with the bounce, there couldn’t have been a better encapsulation of the old order yielding to the new. For the record, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 71 runs.
Nitish Rana produced an innings that had Eden chanting his name for the second time in three games. Rana showed a superb sense of where the field was and was strong square of the wicket.
His innings was the glue that held together the KKR essay, taking them to 200/9 after a first-over maiden by Trent Boult and the innings’ last yielding only one with Rahul Tewatia bagging three wickets.
He made 59 off 35 balls with five boundaries and four sixes. And he took a sharp catch to send back Shreyas Iyer off Russell’s bowling.
Rana has impressed in every game so far but what Monday’s effort was a perfect blend of poise and panache. His second scoring shot was a six getting under a Tewatia delivery and he took to Shahbaz Nadeem in the 10th over. Boult saved a certain four but then Glenn Maxwell could only watch and fall like an autumn leaf as Rana hoiked one. Next ball, he swept for a four.
Even as wickets fell, Rana ensured that the impetus wasn’t lost. Proof of that came when he slotted a six over wide mid-on after Dinesh Karthik was snared. Chris Lynn and Karthik complemented Rana’s effort before Andre Russell showed what power play in T20 is all about with a 12-ball 41.
One of his six sixes travelled 102m, another was flat-batted like a tennis forehand and a third flew over third man. Mohd Shami, who had bowled two overs for 11 runs and dismissed Lynn, ended up leaking 53.