Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum revealed that their all-rounder Andre Russell was not totally fit against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and that is why the 33-year-old West Indies cricketer could not bowl his full quota of overs.
The KKR head coach revealed that Russell’s “shoulder was a little bit sore.”
McCullum's explanation
"Dre (Andre Russell) had run around the boundary and dived, and unfortunately picked up a little bit of a bump. His shoulder was a little bit sore. But Dre being Dre, he still wants to try to get the job done, and he wasn't quite able to. Those are things which happen in low-scoring games," McCullum said in the post-match press conference.
Russell had conceded 36 runs against RCB, bowling 2.2 overs.
While talking about the match, McCullum said that he “loved the intent” of his players but the team “didn't have a lot of luck today.”
"I actually loved the intent to be honest. I thought the intent was great. You back the fact that you played the extra batter, and you played a long batting line-up. You don't anticipate being bowled out obviously," McCullum said while talking about the match.
"Honestly I felt we didn't have a lot of luck today. Every time we sort of went for our aggressive option, we seemed to find a fielder or things didn't quite go our way. That can happen sometimes. But I want us to continue to keep that intent because that served us so well last year. The way we set our teams up at the auction, and the players we picked, it suits them as well," the former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter further added.
KKR's defeat
In the match, KKR had to suffer a three-wicket defeat against RCB on March 30 (Wednesday). Batting first, KKR registered a total of 128, in 18.5 overs. RCB spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva picked up four wickets and pacer Akash Deep claimed three wickets in the match.
In reply, the Bangalore-based team could not start the run chase on a positive note as they lost their first three wickets scoring just 17 runs. Eventually, Dinesh Karthik’s (14 not out off 7 balls) crucial cameo ensured victory for RCB with four balls remaining.