'Hard to compare Russell and Pandya's innings'

Shubman Gill

Eden Gardens was witness to some awe-inspiring hitting on Sunday as KKR tamed Mumbai Indians by 34 runs. Andre Russell's power-packed 40- ball 80 may have had a "just another day in office" feel but Hardik Pandya then showed the sort of firepower and flair that made even a target of 233 look vulnerable when he was around.

The Mumbai all-rounder, who raced to fifty in just 17 deliveries - the fastest this season, scored 91 off just 34 balls to actually outshine Russell. A standing ovation from KKR fans said it all, and the appreciation resonated among opposing players as well with. Russell was among those that rushed to pat Pandya on the back, and young Shubman Gill was all praise.

"The way Hardik was hitting the ball, we knew it will go down the wire," gushed Gill. "It was pure clean hitting and a chanceless knock," added Gill, who himself hit his IPL-best of 76. Pointing out that it was "hard to compare" the innings of Russell and Pandya "because they batted under different situations", Gill reminded that the Knights couldn't lower their guard despite the big cushion. "If you score 232, it doesn't mean the opposition will fold up for 100. They too want to win," he said.

Quinton de Kock too believed they had the chance to take the game deeper on a pitch loaded in favour of the batsman. "We would've loved a couple of less wickets when Kieron [Pollard] and Hardik walked in. But we were trying to get off to a good start so that we don't have to play too much catch up towards the end," said the South African.

KKR's right pitch

The Knights are unhappy at being denied the 'home advantage' when it comes to the Eden Gardens conditions. "We'll try and continue to have some good discussions with the CAB, curator, the president and others to make sure that as the home team we have some advantage," KKR CEO Venky Mysore said on the sidelines of Knight Golf, an annual charity fund-raiser. "You can see around the league, teams have home advantage, and it's a good thing. I think that's how rivalry is built. Another aspect is you build a team based primarily on your home conditions because you play seven game there," he said, but was also mentioned that KKR have not played to potential too.

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