Andre Russell must have been seething inside after being tonked for 21 runs in the final over of the first innings by David Miller against Kings XI Punjab. So, the only way to answer back was in kind with the willow in the chase. The West Indian certainly did not disappoint.
Unleashing those, now familiar, power strokes to the greatest of effects, Russell notched a stunning 51 in just 21 balls, with it pulling KKR to their third straight win and first place in the IPL 2015 points table.
KXIP might have suffered their ninth loss in eleven matches, but at least, this time, they put up an effort, and if not for the power of the Jamaican, they would have even come away from the Eden Gardens with a win.
Batting first, KXIP rode on a decent start from Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra, before Glenn Maxwell, for the first real time in IPL 2015, showed what he is capable of, unfurling those thumps over midwicket and those delectable reverse-sweeps to great effect.
Maxwell has been the most disappointing player in IPL 2015, with his lack of form a major reason behind Kings XI's struggles this season. While the Australian's 43 (22b, 4x4, 3x6) was not enough to take Kings XI to victory, the least it did was give his bowlers something to bowl at, with the first innings score reading 183/5 – it might have been higher if not for the brilliant Sunil Narine, who showed he just might be back to his best with outstanding figures of 4-0-19-4.
The chase needed a solid start for KKR to make it comfortable, and even if the first three-and-a-bit overs produced over 30 runs, the wicket of Robin Uthappa gave KXIP heart that they could defend this total.
Manish Pandey and Gautam Gambhir fell in the space of an over to further increase the scoreboard pressure, with Suryakumar Yadav's poor run of form continuing.
At 83/4 in 10.5 overs, Kings XI were in sight of a morale-boosting victory, but Yusuf Pathan (29, 19b, 1x4, 3x6) and Russell put on a vital 53-run partnership which turned the pendulum firmly in KKR's favour.
Wickets kept tumbling, though, to keep Kings XI interested, but Piyush Chawla smashed a six off Anureet Singh, with eight runs needed off the final over, to win KKR the match.
