Andre Russell became the first bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League to take four wickets in a spell of one over or fewer on Saturday against Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. The Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder, Russell, finished with excellent figures of 4/5.
Gujarat Titans were 151/5 when Andre Russell was handed the ball to bowl the final over. The West Indian all-rounder dismissed Abhinav Manohar and Lockie Ferguson in his first two deliveries before fellow Alzaari Joseph denied the Jamaican a hat-trick.
Rahul Tewatia pulled Andre Russell for a four in the fourth ball. However, the two-time T20 World Cup winner with West Indies had the last laugh as he sent Tewatia and Yash Dayal back in the final two deliveries to reach the feat as Gujarat Titans finished at 156/9 in 20 overs.
The previous best belonged to Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Shreyas Gopal. Shukla, who was playing for KKR then, bagged 3/6 in 0.5 balls against now-defunct Deccan Chargers in 2008 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Rajasthan Royals’ Gopal picked 3/12 in one over against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru in 2019.
“Wasn't looking for wickets in the last over, was just trying to keep them under 160. It's massive (the boundary on one side), but the heat of the moment makes the batters try to clear it,” Andre Russell said after the game.
“I hope I don’t have to bat today, hope the guys above me finish the job and we get the two points. The track is gripping a bit, especially the slower ones,” he added. Gujarat lost their last seven wickets for just 23 runs.
Earlier, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya promoted himself to the number three and smashed 67 off 49 balls before KKR bowlers staged a comeback to restrict the opposition to under 160. Pandya also put 75 runs with Wriddhiman Saha for the third wicket but once the pair was gone, wickets fell like a pack of cards.
