Kolkata (West Bengal) [India] May 4 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell completes 1000 IPL runs at Eden Gardens cricket ground, Kolkata on Sunday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals. Russell made his first fifty of this season, he scored 57 (25), including four fours and six sixes.

He became the third batter to do so after Former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir (1,407 runs) and Robin Uthappa (1,159 runs). Russell has breached the 1000-run mark in 41 innings.

Russell made his IPL debut in 2012, and since then, he has been a constant part of KKR. In 138 matches, he has scored 2613 runs at a strike rate of 174, including 12 half-centuries. He has also taken 123 wickets.

'(On him turning 37 a few days back) I think age is just a number, still feeling like 27, happy with the performance tonight. Once we bowl smart tonight and execute our areas, I think it will be enough. I was worried when I looked at the scoreboard, I was 2 off 8 deliveries, I never worry about dot balls, but I realised the wicket was gripping, I didn't want to take a risk against Theekshana at the start, so when he came back to bowl, I took him on. Spinners were on, my strong point is to get away the spinners as much as possible, they were bowling in good areas, Hasaranga was also bowling well, so I didn't want to take them early on. The wicket was a bit slow, it was gripping, I enjoy this role, the more overs I have, I can make an impact,' Andre Russell said during the mid-innings break.

Impactful innings from KKR all-rounder Andre Russell and young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi powered KKR to a commanding 206/4 in their 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

After winning the toss, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first. Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened the innings.

The ongoing fixture against RR is a must-win for KKR. A defeat here will all but end their campaign. The defending champions have 4 wins from 10 matches and sit at the 7th spot in the IPL 2025 points table. (ANI)