IPL 2022: He's shown what a world-class performer he is: Billings hails Russell's knock after win over PBKS

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Mumbai, April 2: Wankhede Stadium saw a flurry of boundaries as Kolkata Knight Riders all rounder Andre Russell put on a sizzling display with the bat in the Knight Riders' six-wicket win over Punjab Kings on Friday.

After player-of-the-match Umesh Yadav's (4/23) four wicket spell restricted Punjab to 137, Russell's unbeaten 70 off 31 saw the Knights make a mockery of the chase as KKR romped to victory in 14.3 overs.

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Speaking during the post-match press conference, Russell's teammate hailed the all rounder's sizzling show with the bat. "It's pretty relaxed, he rubbed off on me nicely there tonight. I had the best seat in the house, and, what a performance by the big man. I was very lucky to be stood where I stood. I feared for my life as a couple of times, as we saw, but special special knock for him.

"He's shown what a world-class performer he is, the best in the world when he goes like that. For me, it's just about holding the game there and supporting him. He was the star and I let him play his game. For me, if he was to get out, is about taking the game deep on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers.

"It was just about that clarity - let him go and play his game, he can win a game as we saw in the space of five overs. Baz always kind of backed each individual to do that, and when you've got a world-class performer like that, you see the destruction he can cause," Billings said during the post-match press conference.

Umesh has been fantastic: Billings

Meanwhile, Billings opened up about Umesh Yadav's spell. Yadav's four-wicket haul saw the pacer become the current Purple Cap holder. Praising Yadav, Billings added, "Umesh has been fantastic. At Delhi last year, myself, him and Ajinkya didn't get a game. But he's shown what a class performer he's been over the years - certainly for India and Kolkata previously. So he's bowling with lovely pace, swining the ball and nipping the ball."

"And yeah, these wickets have been assisting the frontline bowlers certainly early, but he's made the most out of it. It makes such a difference but when you get wickets in the powerplay, it really does set up the game for us. And yeah, that's been a fundamental part throughout all the games, certainly the ones I've watched on TV as well, early wickets have really hurt sides," said Billings.

Earlier, after Punjab bowled out for 137 in 18.2 overs, KKR too struggled at 51/4, before Russell and Billings turned the game on its head. The duo stitched together a stellar partnership to hand Shreyas Iyer-led Knights a comfortable win in the end.

The Knights, who have now won two games and lost one match, will next take on Mumbai Indians on Wednesday (April 6) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.