Andre Russell of the Kolkata Knight Riders may have picked up a hamstring niggle after his exertions against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
It was the chase's 17th over. Russell, who has had problems with his right leg, particularly his knee, for several seasons, completed an acrobatic save on the midwicket boundary and launched himself off the field in frustration as soon as he released the ball.
Even back then, the Knight Riders were aware that they were dealing with a crisis, but the nature of it was unknown.
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"It's still too early to tell. He said he felt something pop in his leg, his hamstring. We've got the best medical staff in the business so they'll tend to him and hopefully it's nothing too serious, because he's a key part of our team,”
“He's been playing very very nicely with the bat, the ball, and in the field. So hopefully nothing too serious and he can come back and light the competition up like we know Andre Russell can do," David Hussey, who is with the team as a mentor, said at the post-match press conference.
Russell was set to bowl the Super Kings' 19th over of a chase that was becoming increasingly tense. But then came the injury, which forced him off the field for the second time in the game, and Knight Riders had to scramble for a replacement.
They chose Prasidh Krishna, who was dismissed for a game-changing 22 runs.
"Of course when Andre went off the park he had one over to go," Hussey said.
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"Was he gonna bowl? No one really knows. He bowled particularly well up front, so he probably was going to bowl the 19th over. PK [Prasidh] has been an amazing death bowler for us throughout this tournament, over the last two games. So yeah, he's definitely in our plans to bowl. Unfortunately he got beaten by a better player today in [Ravindra] Jadeja. But I'm sure, knowing PK, that's he going to bounce back and become the world class bowler that he actually is."
