Week 1 of the greatest T20 league in the world is done and dusted and what a week it’s been with heavyweight teams losing, new names emerging and some icons of the game making a mark yet again. With some exceptional individual performances with bat and ball, it’s almost impossible to pick one standout performance but today at Man’s Life, our resident Cricket presenter and commentator, Suhail Chandhok picks one performance that left a memorable mark from the first week of this IPL (until 2nd April, 2022).
The first and only centurion so far of IPL 2022 was Jos “The Boss” Buttler as he hammered his way to a 100 vs his former side, the Mumbai Indians and helped the Rajasthan Royals to their 2nd win in as many games in 2022 BUT, my performance of the week goes to another man who’s unbeaten 70 off just 31 deliveries was one of the most destructive phases of batting I have ever witnessed. Andre Russell!
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On a night when the Kolkata Knight Riders found themselves in a spot of bother vs the Punjab Kings in a relatively low scoring chase of 138, Russell decided to put on a real show as he bludgeoned 8 towering sixes (and said later that he just middled ONE of them). Not only was Russell unstoppable with the big hits but he also built the innings smartly, not trying to go after the sensational Rahul Chahar who was bowling beautifully on the night. His 70 off just 31 deliveries dented any hopes that the PBKS men might have had halfway through that chase and once again proved that he is perhaps still the greatest power hitter in the IPL!
[Featured Image Credit: ANI]
Suhail Chandhok
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