Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the afternoon match on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. It was an exciting match, as Eoin Morgan’s side managed to take the game down to the last minute before eventually succumbing to the opposition. They kept CSK’s run-scoring under control with their spinners while defending 171, but they badly missed one of their best bowlers, Andre Russell, in the death overs.
In the 17th over of the CSK innings, the all-rounder got injured while fielding at the boundary. Andre Russell sprinted well to get to the ball which was traveling at a great pace and threw it in a split second. But in the process, he injured his hamstring, and as a result, he had to step out of the boundary line immediately after the throw.
Early indications are that Andre Russell may have picked up a hamstring niggle in KKR's defeat to CSK #IPL2021
👉 https://t.co/gMoontka1T pic.twitter.com/JjWJ362juF
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 26, 2021
Before this, Andre Russell had bowled three overs for 28 runs and had taken the wicket of in-form CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad. After the incident, however, he was not seen on the field, and skipper Morgan was forced to turn to Prasidh Krishna for the 19th over. That was when the match completely changed for Chennai, who were looking in trouble after losing Raina and Dhoni in quick succession. With two sixes and two fours, Sir Ravindra Jadeja snatched 22 runs from the over.
Probably Andre Russell was going to bowl the 19th over – David Hussey
We go down fighting against the table-toppers. #CSKvKKR #KKR #AmiKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/cQTg3O8MYI
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 26, 2021
David Hussey, the KKR mentor, believes that it is too early to say whether or not the Jamaican would be ready for the next game against the Delhi Capitals.
“It’s still too early to tell. He said he felt something pop in his leg, his hamstring. We’ve got the best medical staff in the business so they’ll tend to him and hopefully it’s nothing too serious, because he’s a key part of our team.He’s been playing very very nicely with the bat, the ball, and in the field. So hopefully nothing too serious and he can come back and light the competition up like we know Andre Russell can do”-said Hussey.
David Hussey also hinted that if Andre Russell had not been injured, he might have bowled the second-last over instead of Prasidh Krishna.
“Of course when Andre went off the park he had one over to go. Was he gonna bowl? No one really knows. He bowled particularly well upfront, so he probably was going to bowl the 19th over. Prasidh Krishna has been an amazing death-over bowler for us. Yeah, he is definitely in our plans, unfortunately, he got beaten by a better player today in Jadeja”, the 44-year old said in the post-match Press Conference.
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