[IPL]- Andre Russell discusses how the animated celebration of Virat Kohli triggers his 13-ball 48 carnage
Virat Kohli and violence go hand in hand; the player’s ‘aggressive’ tag was with him long before he became the game’s modern-day great. It’s claimed that this Indian skipper’s rough and wild side brings the best out of him, and we’ve got enough stats to show the assumption isn’t incorrect. But what was unknown is how his on-field exploits cause and even bring out the best from an opponent.
The good news is we have an answer to that now. In a recent interview with presenter Sanjana Ganesan, KKR all-rounder Andre Russell said for his IPL franchise that Virat Kohli’s celebration had triggered him during an IPL 2019 match.
The match the big-hitting West Indian listed was played at Bengaluru’s M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. KKR were chasing a target of 206 runs, and they required 52 runs off 16 balls in the final moments of the match. Andre Russell just walked in and didn’t even notice her foot.
Moments later, he saw Virat Kohli celebrating the dismissal of his skipper animatedly and laying the groundwork for the barbaric assassination of Andre Russell in the backyard of RCB’s own home. He had been ‘triggered’ by the scenes he spoke about to the point that Chinnaswamy was going to become a real bowler slaughterhouse.
Amid the run chase, one instance fired up Russell, and it was Kohli’s celebration after dismissing Dinesh Karthik. Russell revealed, “He hit the ball, and he got caught (by Yuzvendra Chahal at midwicket). RCB captain’s Virat Kohli turned towards the stands where all the wives and KKR supporters were sitting, and he shouted, ‘Come on!’. Hell no, this isn’t over when I looked up like something happened in my brain.”
Young Shubman Gill walked in after KKR captain Karthik’s dismissal and was told by his senior to give him the maximum of strikes.
“When Shubman Gill walked out, I said, listen, I’m going to take down anyone who bowls. I’m going to take down anyone who comes on. So just try to give me my strike as much as possible. Since then, the game has been like six after six, and every time I hit a six, I haven’t even looked at the scoreboard because sometimes you get carried away with the crowd and all.”
“Every time I go to Shubman after hitting a six, I punch the gloves with him and go back to take as much deep breath as possible, which will encourage you to be calm. Looking around is like a waste of energy,” added Andre Russell.
The scorecard for Andre Russell’s last nine innings balls read 6,6,6,1,6,6,6,4,6. He smashed an unbeaten 48 off 13 balls as five wickets won KKR’s match, with five remaining balls.
Andre Russell also said that when playing for KKR in the IPL, he gets the full goosebumps, and he wished that IPL will happen this year.
