Andre Russell unleashed his fury in Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2024 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata as he smashed an unbeaten knock of 64 runs in just 25 balls as the hosts bounced back from a sedate start to post an imposing 208 for 7. Russell bludgeoned seven sixes en route to the knock, which not only left him in an elite IPL club featuring Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, but the sight of it left KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan excited.

Russell teed off against Mayank Markande, who had earlier taken the crucial wicket of Phil Salt (54 off 40), launching the spinner deep into the stands - three sixes in five balls. Markande almost had the last laugh in the battle when Aiden Markram took a blinder at long-on, but replays revealed that he had grounded the catch, thus handing Russell a lifeline at 20.

Andre Russell then smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a four and a six in his penultimate over before hitting 26 runs in his last over as the Jamaican brought up his fifty in just 20 balls. He pulled off a quiet celebration, but Shah Rukh, who was present at the Eden Gardens to witness Russellmania unfold before his eyes, applauded the effort and gestured with a thumbs-up sign.

En route to the blitzkrieg knock, Russell became the ninth player in the history of IPL to amass 200 sixes in the tournament and the fifth overseas cricketer. Others in the elite club include Chris Gayle (357), Rohit Sharma (257), AB de Villiers (251), MS Dhoni (239), David Warner (228), Kieron Pollard (223), and Suresh Raina (203).

Russell's blazing knock, coupled with Salt's maiden IPL fifty and Rinku Singh's 15-ball 23 helped KKR become the first team to amass a 200-run total. Earlier in the match, Kolkata were reduced to four down for just 51 runs in the eighth over before Ramandeep Singh and Salt forged a half-century stand followed by an 81-run stand between Russell and Rinku.

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