New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell roared back to form with a blistering half-century in his side’s clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden Gardens in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday, May 04. Russell slammed a quickfire 25-ball 57 to help KKR finish strongly and post a strong total of 206/4 in 20 overs.
Opting to bat first in the game, KKR got off to a shaky start as they lost opener Sunil Narine cheaply on 11 in the Powerplay. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and skipper Ajinkya Rahane then steadied the ship with a 56-run stand for the second wicket. Gurbaz scored 35 off 25 balls, while Rahane played a sedate knock of 24-ball 30.
Russell was sent early at no.5 and he joined hands with young Angkrish Raghuvanshi to help KKR continue the momentum with a 61-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Russell took his time to settle down before launching an all-out attack against the Rajasthan Royals bowlers as he took them to the cleaners. The West Indies all-rounder had scored only 2 runs off the first 9 balls he faced, but raced to his fifty off just 22 balls.
Russell finished with a cracking unbeaten 57 off 25 balls laced with six sixes and 4 fours. He hammered three back-to-back sixes against RR spinner Maheesh Theekshana in the 18th over, helping KKR get 23 runs from it. Raghuvanshi played a fine knock of 31-ball 44 to complement Russell during their partnership. Rinku Singh added the finishing touches to KKR’s innings with his brilliant cameo of 6-ball 19 to help them post 206 runs on the board.
𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙖 𝙖𝙩 𝙀𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨 💪
Display of brute force from #KKR‘s very own Andre Russell 💥
Updates ▶ https://t.co/wg00ni9CQE#TATAIPL | #KKRvRR | @Russell12A pic.twitter.com/YfXiU3dF6h
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2025
Andre Russell achieves major milestone
Russell achieved a huge milestone with his 25-ball 57 against the Rajasthan Royals as he became only the third batter to complete 1,000 runs at the Eden Gardens in T20 cricket. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa are the only other batters with more than 1,000 runs at the iconic venue.
Most T20 runs at Eden Gardens :
1462 – Gautam Gambhir
1160 – Robin Uthappa
1006 – Andre Russell*
Russell also became only the second batter to breach the 2500-run mark for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. The West Indies power-hitter now has 2555 runs in 131 matches at an average of 29.03 and a stunning strike rate of 175, including 12 fifties. He is the second-highest run-getter for KKR in the IPL, only behind former skipper Gambhir, who heads the elite list with 3035 runs in 108 matches.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Andre Russell smashed a quickfire 25-ball 57 against Rajasthan Royals to become only the third batter to achieve a huge milestone in IPL 2025 on Sunday. IPL Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
