Andre Russell: The Knight With The Never-Say-Die Spirit

For Andre Russell, a miracle is anything but rare, whether batting first, bowling or chasing improbable targets.

Rare and spectacular.

These are two words that define a miracle perfectly. We don’t witness miracles every day, but whenever we do, it is always a mesmerizing event. However, for Andre Russell, a miracle is anything but rare. What he has done in the IPL over the last couple of weeks at least suggests so.

Match-after-match, the big West Indian has arrived at the crease with superhuman targets in sight and yet, overhauled them consistently with style. All hope seemed lost for the Kolkata Knight Riders in each of the four games, but Russell pulled them back into contention every time from precarious situations.

Nobody would really blame a team for believing that they are going to win a match with 50-odd runs to defend in the last three overs. But Russell is someone who likes to make a mockery of these assumptions.

He snatched victory away from the jaws of the opposition with his 19-ball 49 during Kolkata’s season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on 24 April. He then repeated the feat once again with his 13-ball 48 on Friday, 1 April, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to be on the cusp of victory for the first time in the season, after fifties from Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers had powered them to a massive score of 205/3.

While it was an experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar who found himself in the line of fire during the first match, this time it was another established international Tim Southee, who was taken to the cleaners by the Jamaican Giant. Both bowlers have tons of experience under their belt.

Yet, both of them appeared equally clueless in front of Russell’s fury. The result was unbelievable, what Russell did quite unimaginable. He redefined the concept of a safe T20 score and his consistent returns match-after-match suggest that he has a method to his ferocity as well, perfected over time.

To top it all, in between these spectacular run-chases, he has sandwiched a couple of blazing first innings knocks as well, which helped Kolkata post daunting targets against Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals. While his 17-ball 48 helped Kolkata seal a comfortable 28-run victory against the Kings XI, his 28-ball 62 against the Capitals allowed them to Knight Riders to reach a good enough total to defend.

The discipline of the Kolkata bowlers took the match to a Super-Over but they ended up losing it, unfortunately. That has been the only loss for the Knight Riders in this season thus far, and that too, a narrow one. Without Russell’s heroics though, Kolkata could well have ended up losing all of their matches.

The most fascinating aspect of Russell’s play is his consistent big hitting abilities during the final overs of the match. 749 of his total tally of 1097 runs in the IPL have come between overs 15 and 20 at an excellent average of 28.8 and a mind-boggling strike-rate of 201.88. These numbers clearly show how good he has been in these overs. In spite of having big hitting ability, it is very difficult for most other batsmen to deliver the volume of runs he does in these situations.

To do that time and again, a batsman needs supreme confidence in himself – and Russell doesn’t seem to have any shortage of self-confidence and belief. He backs himself every time to do the job for his team, no matter how difficult it looks. With the bat, he looks like a God of Destruction. On the field, he is like a live-wire.

And with the ball, he can rip opposition teams apart with his searing pace and yorkers even though his jog of a run-up doesn’t suggest that he is the swiftest of bowlers. His tally of five wickets at a strike-rate of 12.0 in four matches thus far this season suggests just how good a bowler he is.

Apart from his IPL franchise, his fabulous form is also a shot in the arm for the Windies’ chances in the World Cup in June. However, for that to happen, the West Indies Cricket Board needs to look beyond their differences with the player and think about the betterment of the team.

The two parties have been in a long tussle for the past two years regarding various issues such as his commitment to the national team, the financial condition of the board, etc. Russell would no doubt want to represent his country in the mega event and so he should make efforts from his side too in order to open the doors of communication. If they can do that, Russell's inclusion will make Windies will the team to watch out for in the World Cup.

(Prasenjit Dey is a freelance cricket writer. He can be reached at @CricPrasen. The opinions expressed are the author’s own and The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)