Andre Russell spoilt David Warner's dream return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) with an unbeaten 19-ball 49 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets in their campaign opener at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Russell (4x4, 4x6) came in to bat in the 16th over with KKR needing 68 off 27 balls chasing 182 for victory just after a well-settled Nitish Rana (68; 47b 8x4 3x6) was removed by Rashid Khan.
Rana was sent to open the innings as Sunil Narine faced fitness issues.
Russell, a veteran of T20s, took Siddharth Kaul for 19 runs in the 18th over, followed by 21 off Sunrisers stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to bring the equation down to 13 off the last over.
Shubman Gill (18 not out) -- who joined hands with Russell for a 65-run fifth wicket stand -- then hit two sixes off Shakib Al Hasan to complete a remarkable chase for the home team with two balls to spare. KKR finished with 183/4 in 19.4 overs.
Earlier, Warner, returning from a one-year ban in the IPL, cracked 85 off 53 deliveries (9x4, 3x6) while India all-rounder Vijay Shankar played a useful unbeaten cameo (40; 24 b; 2x4, 2x6) to help the visitors post 181/3.
In the first innings, it was all about Warner's dream return as the 32-year-old took the KKR bowlers to the cleaners, not even sparing the generally economical Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav.
Warner’s 53-ball 85 was laced with nine fours and three sixes. The dashing southpaw looked good for a fourth hundred, but Russell came back to get his wicket and help the hosts put a lid on the visitors' run feast.
But Shankar ensured that Sunrisers had enough runs on the board with an unbeaten 40 with Manish Pandey not out on 8, while Yusuf Pathan (1) failed to get going.
For the hosts, Russell was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/32.
(With inputs from IANS)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)