2 weeks Ago By Firstpost
The mighty Andre Russell was left largely clueless as Gujarat Titans (GT) attacked him with left-arm spinner Sai Kishore and leggie Rashid Khan in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at the Eden Gardens on Monday. Russell was one of the last hopes for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as they got off to a horrific start in the 199-run chase against GT. However, the West Indian great could only manage 21 off 15 as he struggled against the spinners before being stumped on a Rashid googly .
When asked about Russell’s struggles in the middle and IPL 2025, KKR mentor and former teammate Dwayne Bravo said it wasn’t a case of the 36-year-old struggling against the leg-spinners but that of KKR failing to put up good starts which has forced Russell to come in early to bat rather than playing the role of a finisher. “Andre Russell is an experienced and successful player. Yes, in a couple of games, the leg-spinners got him out.
But I don’t think we are batting well as a team. That is the reality. Russell is not the only one struggling.
As a group, we have to ensure players are backed. We need to keep preparing well. IPL is a tough tournament.
If you don’t start well, batters can go into a period where they lose confidence,” Bravo said after KKR lost to GT by 39 runs. Bravo underlined that the KKR top-order, including batters like Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane, need to take more responsibility instead of leaving the task for the middle and lower order to complete. “Not every team has leg-spinners and today he was up against a quality spinner like Rashid Khan.
When Russell walks in to bat, every time the run rate is at 14 or 15 runs per over. Work needs to be done at the top to give him a chance to finish off games like he has been doing all these years for KKR. Yes, leg-spinners got him out a few times, but I don’t think that is a big concern.
We just need to bat better (at the top) to allow our finishers the chance to finish games,” Bravo added. KKR captain Rahane is the only batter in the top 10 run-getters in IPL 2025 so far. At rank 10, Rahane has scored 271 runs so far in eight matches.
The next best is Angkrish Raghuvanshi with 197 runs, which explains KKR’s poor form in IPL 2025. In the post-match presentation ceremony, Rahane admitted that the lack of good starts is the major reason behind the downfall of the defending champion. “I thought 199 was chaseable, we came back into the game really well with the ball.
You expect good opening starts, but that’s what we’re struggling with throughout the tournament. We need to learn as quickly as possible,” Rahane said..
