Two-time title holders Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) star all-rounder Andre Russell achieved a rare feat during a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2022 on Wednesday (March 30).
The match marked his 400th T20 match as he entered an elite list of players with the likes Kiron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Shoaib Malik, Chris Gayle and Ravi Bopara. Russell became the sixth player to play most matches in the history of T20s.
Russell's teammate Pollard lead the list with most T20 matches (582), who is followed by Dwayne Bravo's 523, Shoaib Malik's 472, 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle's 463 and England's Ravi Bopara (411).
Most matches in T20 career:
582 - Kieron Pollard
523 - Dwayne Bravo
472 - Shoaib Malik
463 - Chris Gayle
411 - Ravi Bopara
400 - Andre Russell
The 33-year-old Russell was among the four players who were retained by KKR. Russell was the top retainee for a whopping Rs 12 crore beside Varun Chakravarthy Rs 8 crore, Venkatesh Iyer Rs 8 crore and Sunil Narine Rs 6 crore.
However, Russell couldn't make the best of the good start against Faf Du Plessis-led RCB as he was dismissed for 25 off 18 to leave his side reeling at 128 after invited to bat first.
Also, in the lung-opener of IPL 2022 where KKR got the better of CSK by six wickets, Russell didn't get the batting, however, he bowled a spell of four overs in which he scalped mere one wicket while conceding 38 runs.
In T20 cricket, the Caribbean all-rounder is the only bowler to take four wickets in four deliveries. In 2013, he achieved the feat against India. He was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian T20 League in 2014 after a few brief appearances for Delhi. He had a few excellent games and was part of a winning squad.
Andre Russell got ‘Man of the Match’ thrice in 2015 season of the IPL. His three fifties that season saw him accumulate 326 runs at an astonishing strike-rate of 192. He was also a standout with the ball, taking 14 wickets to earn the title of ‘Most Valuable Player’ in the 2015 IPL.
