Andre Russell’s blitz powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a competitive total against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 33 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on Saturday. Virat Kohli won the toss and decided that RCB would bowl first in the rain-shortened game, as neither team made any changes to their respective sides. Live scorecard: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 33 IPL 2015
With the game being just 10 overs per side, KKR made a few changes to their batting order. Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir opened for KKR, and put on 33 in just under four overs before Gambhir was brilliantly caught by Mandeep Singh of David Wiese. Gambhir’s 12 had come off eight balls with two boundaries. Live updates: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 33 IPL 2015
That brought in Andre Russell at No. 3, a move which proved to be a masterstroke. Uthappa went from looking to score boundaries off every ball to turning the strike over and letting Russell go after the bowling. Uthappa was finally dismissed looking to slog Yuzvendra Chahal. The ball only went up in the air, and Dinesh Karthik took a tricky catch. Uthappa had scored a 21-ball 23 which included three boundaries. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
That brought in Ryan ten Doeschate at No. 4, and he too continued what Uthappa was doing by giving Russell the strike. Russell was at his brutal best, taking the attack to the RCB bowlers. However, he was dismissed in the penultimate over of the innings, brilliantly run out by Karthik. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
That did not deter new man Yusuf Pathan, who hit a six off his second delivery. Mitchell Starc bowled a super final over though, getting ten Doeschate out for 12 and conceding a mere nine runs, as RCB were left with a target of 112. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 111 for 4 in 10 overs (Andre Russell 45, Mitchell Starc 1 for 16, David Wiese 1 for 20) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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