Andre Russell is confident Kolkata Knight Riders can emerge stronger from their implosion against Mumbai Indians, after a performance that prompted Shah Rukh Khan to apologise to the side’s fans.
Kolkata continued their miserable run against the defending champions, as they crashed to a 10-run defeat in Chennai on Tuesday night.
Having bowled Mumbai out for 152, they had been cruising in reply, reaching 72 for no loss in the ninth over.
They then capitulated against the spin of Krunal Pandya, who took one for 13 from his four overs, and Rahul Chahar, who was named player of the match after taking four wickets.
The collapse prompted Khan, the franchise owner, to tweet: “Disappointing performance, to say the least. Apologies to all the fans!”
Russell, who had taken five wickets in two overs at the end of the Mumbai innings, said the side need to bounce back.
“I support that tweet,” the Jamaican allrounder said of Khan’s apology.
“In a game of cricket, you are not sure until it’s over. We are still confident. We are still playing some good cricket, and I am proud of the boys.
“We definitely feel disappointed, but at the end of the day it is not the end of the road. It is our second game and we are definitely going to learn from it.”
Russell urged the Kolkata batsmen to find solutions to the problem of batting on a “difficult wicket” in Chennai, on which scoring has proved increasingly difficult as matches have progressed.
“It is the game of cricket,” Russell said. “I have played hundreds of T20 games. I have seen games where teams are cruising, in the driver’s seat, then suddenly lose a few wickets and the new batters coming in struggle to get away the ball.
“I think that is what happened tonight. We definitely have to learn from this.
“We are looking to make sure that whoever is in stays in. Once we learn from all these mistakes that happened tonight, we are going to be doing better. I trust, and am confident in the boys.”
Chahar, who had played two matches in the T20 international series against England last month, said he felt confident or turning the game around for his side.
“I was not feeling any pressure because, being in the India team, I’ve bowled against big players in the nets,” the leg-spinner said.
“So the pressure is less when you are used to playing with big players.
“This is my fourth year with Mumbai Indians, and I bowl to players like [Kieron] Pollard and Hardik [Pandya], who are considered as some of the biggest hitters in the world. So in that situation, I don’t feel any pressure.”
