The West Indies allrounder performed both with the ball and the bat but could not take his team to victory as KKR failed to chase a 157-run target. It was the two-time champions’ fifth loss in eight matches as they find themselves in the bottom half of the table.
Former India keeper Parthiv Patel believes that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cannot solely rely on Andre Russell for fireworks with the bat while chasing a total. He made these remarks following the team’s 8-run loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Patel mentioned that KKR are overly dependent on Andre Russell, which should not be the case, especially when they are chasing 157 runs. The swashbuckling West Indies batter slammed 48 runs off just 25 deliveries.
However, Russell didn’t get much support from the rest of the KKR batters and they ultimately lost the encounter.
Speaking on KKR’s performance, Parthiv Patel said:
“KKR cannot be dependent on Andre Russell all the time. It is going to be very difficult if you are depending on your number 7 to fire even when you are chasing such a total.”
Speaking on the same show, ex-India pacer RP Singh pointed out that KKR captain Shreyas Iyer has a tendency to shuffle across the leg stump against fast bowlers.
He suggested that the right-hander should avoid doing that too much and look to score runs on all sides of the ground.
RP Singh explained:
“It shows that he hasn’t been reading the game well and is looking to score runs only in one area. It used to be difficult for me to bowl if a batter had his back foot on the off stump. However, it becomes easier when the batter is moving on the leg side.”
Iyer failed to make an impact with the bat in the contest against GT. The player edged one to the keeper off Yash Dayal’s bowling and was dismissed for 12 runs.