IPL 2022 | Russell becomes first bowler to take four wickets off only over bowled in T20s

Andre Russell has become the only bowler to have four wickets to his name off the only over bowled in men’s T20s. The veteran West Indies all-rounder achieved this unique feat in Kolkata’s latest encounter against Gujarat Titans by dismissing Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, Rahul Tewatia and Yash Dayal in the 20th over. 

Russell was given the ball to bowl the last over of Gujarat’s innings when the Titans were placed at 151 for the loss of five wickets with Rahul Tewatia and Abhinav Manohar batting in the middle. 

The seam-bowling all-rounder removed Manohar off a slower length delivery on his first delivery and Ferguson on the very next one. The Jamaican then used the slower ball tactic to outfox Rahul Tewatia as the batter holed to the sweeper. Finally, he went a step further to dismiss Yash Dayal on the last ball of his over to register this remarkable record. 

Three of Russell’s wickets were caught by Rinku Singh, who also surpassed a milepost by becoming the first player in IPL history to grab three catches in a single over. The Uttar Pradesh-based cricketer, who is known for his blazing feilding in the outer ring, banked on four spectacular catches in the deep. 

Talking about the game, GT successfully snatched an eight-run victory over KKR, courtesy of a marvellous collective bowling effort by all its bowlers. 

Defending 156 is definitely a daunting task for any bowling unit in T20 cricket these days, but the way Gujarat’s bowlers bowled to restrict KKR to 148 received heaps of praise and applause. That too against Russ’ mind-boggling 25-ball-48. However, Lockie Furguson got the better of the Caribbean in the last over of the match, with 12 runs to win.

With this victory, the Titans have moved to the top of the table. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer’s KKR have lost four consecutive games.