[Watch] Piyush Chawla wins the mental battle against Andre Russell during KKR vs MI IPL 2024 match

Veteran Mumbai Indians (MI) leg-spinner Piyush Chawla had the last laugh against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) big hitter Andre Russell in their IPL 2024 match. The latter had to walk back to the pavilion at Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11. Russell departed for 24 off 14 balls just at the end of the 13th over and at a point where he could have exploded even further.

On the last ball of his spell, Chawla surprised Russell with a seam-up delivery and bowled it back of a length. The all-rounder got on the back foot and decided to thump that over deep mid-wicket fence.

However, Andre Russell was rushed a bit by the pace of the ball and could only get the elevation and not the desired distance. Anshul Kambhoj completed the catch at deep mid-wicket and Piyush Chawla's celebration suggested that the batter fell right in his trap.

Here's a video of the dismissal:

Piyush Chawla dismissing Andre Russell evidenced in a nutshell just how KKR kept on losing wickets at crucial junctures. Their wickets fell just when it looked like they would shift gears to the next level.

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MI restrict KKR to 157/7

Losing both their openers early certainly didn't help the hosts' case and that was followed by skipper Shreyas Iyer not converting his start into a big one. Chawla then sent the dangerous Venkatesh Iyer packing on the very first ball of his spell.

Andre Russell joined Nitish Rana in the middle and the latter provided the injection of momentum that Kolkata needed for their innings. Gradually runs began to flow from both ends and it looked like the duo would get hosts comfortably past the 170-run mark.

However, MI struck back with more wickets and have set themselves a target of 158 in 16 overs in the rain-affected game. KKR will know the same batting line-up faltered while chasing in the reverse fixture and will look to strike early.