Such a force in Indian Premier League (IPL) the unstoppable looking Andre Russell had a mediocre outing with Multan Sultan’s in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019 as he scored mere 50 runs in four games and took only one wicket. That is total contrast to his current IPL stint in which he has set World’s biggest T20 league on fire with his power hitting.
All the bowlers who have bowled to him so far in the tournament have been taken to parts and there isn’t a single bowler currently who would want to bowl to him. Even in last night’s game against RCB, he set stage on fire and brought KKR almost home from losing position. When he arrived in middle everyone said it is almost over for KKR and even Russell would not be able to do. But then he almost made it gave RCB skipper Virat Kohli nightmares like the previous head to clash between two sides.
So what has changed in such a short time that Russell is looking unstoppable now while he was not at his best in PSL. In the four PSL games he scored mere 50 runs with the best of 18. He was also able to take only one wicket. Have brought in by Multan Sultan’s as replacement for Australian Steve Smith, Russell was not at his best in the league. He bad outing in PSL turned out as nightmare for bowlers in the IPL as the West Indies giant wanted to make amends.
It is not a hidden fact that PSL is known for its quality bowling and that too affected the fortunes of Russell. Not just Russell all the power hitters from around the World have not been able to set stage on fire in PSL like they had done in IPL over the years. That was the reason that all time T20 great Chris Gayle was unable to find place in any side in IPL as he had previous bad outing in league. It brings one to think about the bowling standards in IPL in which power hitters are taking even top class bowlers to all parts of the park.
In this year’s IPL so far, after playing eight inning Russell has already amassed 377 runs with amazing strike rate. He has scores of 65, 10, 45, 50*,48*,62, 48 and 49*.