Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana (1/7 & 51) never doubted senior all-rounder Andre Russells skills in spite of a slump in the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League. Russell, who had been showcasing glimpses of his best throughout the season, finally managed to register an impactful match-winning performance in the recently concluded match against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens.

If truth be told, Russells best is yet to come. However, him dominating in a 27-ball 54-run fifth wicket partnership alongside batter Rinku Singh (21*) was enough for Knight Riders to chase down a 180-run target in front of their home crowd to live another day in IPL 2023.

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Coming in to bat at No. 5 with 65 runs needed off 38 balls, Russell scored 42 (23) comprising three fours and sixes each before Singh scored the winning runs in his absence.

Into his first season as the captain of an IPL team, Rana played an instrumental role in motivating Russell knowing how he had it in him to win matches for the team. Russell, who has powered KKR to wins on more than one occasion per season, would want to go onward and upward after winning his first Player of the Match award of the season.

Ive been telling him from the last 8-9 matches Tu ek innings away hai [You are one innings away from playing at your best]. Considering his achievements, I wanted to make him believe this as a captain. He proved that tonight and earned us a couple of points, Rana told host broadcaster Star Sports Network during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Having laid emphasis on two points after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 runs last week, it is understandable as to why each point matters so much for Rana nowadays.

With five wins in 11 matches, Kolkata are currently at the fifth position on the points table but things appeared pretty bleak after they had lost six out of their first nine matches. Even though theres still a lot of work to be done, Rana and his men would be relieved to still be among contention for IPL 2023 playoffs.

In 11 innings with the bat in hand, Russell has scored 208 runs at an average and strike rate of 23.11 and 154.07 respectively to be Knight Riders fifth-highest run-scorer this season thus far.

As far as bowling is concerned, Russell has picked seven wickets across eight innings at an average of 22.85, an economy rate of 11.29 and a strike rate of 12.14 to be their third-highest wicket-taker.

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"Tu Ek Innings Away Hai": Nitish Rana's Everyday Motivation To ... - The Sportsrush