'We bowled like champions': Andre Russell credits bowlers for KKR win

Kolkata: After his four-wicket haul guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-run win over Kings XI Punjab, West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell said they bowled like champions in their IPL match. Adjudged man-of-the-match for returning figures of 4-0-20-4, Russell said, “Yusuf and I did well in the last game against RCB. But this match was important too, and we bowled like champions. Our batters have been doing the job most of the time earlier and we had been letting them down. But we proved ourselves tonight. We were trying to get 180, but their bowlers bowled yorkers very well. We knew 160 was defendable on this ground. We had to bowl to our field, build pressure and take wickets.” [caption id=“attachment_2765868” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Andre Russell. BCCI[/caption] Punjab skipper Murali Vijay looked to take positives from the game. “We didn’t start well and for Maxi to put on a knock like that was unbelievable. Axar got run-out at the wrong time, but a lot of positives for us to take,” he said. “Our bowlers were up to the mark and Sandeep has been excellent. We needed a strong start with the bat. The momentum from Rajkot is with us, and we’re looking to take that forward.” Asked about Hashim Amla who joined the squad in place of the injured Shaun marsh, Vijay said, “Hashim Amla came on Wednesday morning and we wanted to give him a break before including him in the future.” Despite winning, Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir said they were 10 runs short on a slow wicket, but was happy to come up with a good show. Gambhir said, “We were not used to this kind of a wicket, but I think we did well and were quite professional after that game in Bengaluru. I think we were about 10 runs short. After playing in Mumbai and Banglaore, this was a touch slower. But we got to get used to it.” Gambhir said they need to ensure they keep up the intensity. “Russell and Morkel getting wickets upfront was crucial. Our middle-order has also been in decent form. We can’t be complacent at this point, like what happened last year when we couldn’t qualify for the playoffs,” he added.