IPL 2022, KKR vs PBKS | Andre Russell took the game away from us, admits Mayank Agarwal

Punjab Kings' (PBKS) skipper Mayank Agarwal on Friday (April 1) conceded that they did not bat well enough in Match 8 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing a target of a below-par 138, KKR got past the finish line with 33 balls and six wickets to spare.

Andre Russell picked PBKS bowlers to unleash his wrath as the West Indies all-rounder showed glimpses of a return to peak form with an unbeaten 70 off 31 balls. PBKS were in the contest when leg-spinner Rahul Chahar got the wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana in the same over but Russell swung the momentum in KKR's favour since walking out in the middle.

The star all-rounder hit eight sixes and two fours in his blistering knock as he took the attack to the PBKS bowlers, guiding KKR to register their second win of the IPL 2022 in three attempts.

During the post-match presentation, Mayank credited Russell for the result, saying it was the KKR all-rounder who shattered their hopes after a good start with the ball to their defence of a below-par 137-run total.

“We showed some real fight with the ball initially and then Dre Russ came in and got going. Credit to him for taking the game away from us like that. I think it was a 170ish wicket,” the PBKS skipper said.

“We started off well but could not capitalize, there were a few soft dismissals. But it is fine as it is the start of the tournament. They (bowlers) pulled back nicely for us with 4 for 50 we were in the game, but Russell took the game away. There were a lot of positives to take away,” he added.

PBKS will next play against defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday (April 3) in Match 11 of IPL 2022 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.