Andre Russell’s aura that seemed to be losing its shine has finally been unleashed when Kolkata Knight Riders needed it the most.

As the brawny all-rounder walked in to the floodlit Eden on Wednesday, that aura which separates him from the rest of the Knights brigade looked back in place. Back-to-back wins and a charged-up Russell is a powerful combination for the Knights as they gear up for another crucial clash at home, this time against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.

While KKR go into the game with consecutive victories, the Royals have lost all of their last three. No wonder, Nitish Rana and his team are well-placed on momentum.

Russell’s timely 23-ball 42 on Monday ensured that the foundation laid by spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3/26) and skipper Rana (51) against Punjab Kings didn’t go in vain. Strokes flowing off his blade at the death were also a great relief.

One could gauge the Jamaican’s intensity at training on Wednesday. In terms of batting, he is definitely back to being in a good space, but bowling needs to be tightened up a little.

Thanks to Chakravarthy, Punjab’s Liam Livingstone couldn’t hurt the Knights much, but he did smash Russell for three boundaries in the only over the Jamaican bowled on Monday, conceding 19 runs. At Wednesday’s practice, Russell was seen laying more emphasis on getting his yorkers right.

Notwithstanding the Royals’ three straight losses, the visitors have quality batsmen upfront in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler. Both won’t spare an inch if Russell and his bowling colleagues err in line or length. In fact, the Knights’ pace attack is a major area of concern, something that the Royals openers will look to feast on.

Will the home side continue with Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana as their opening bowlers? Their spells in the closing overs against Punjab almost cost KKR the game as they had to chase at least 20 extra runs.

Seamer all-rounder Shardul Thakur did feature in the XI on Monday but didn’t bowl. If Shardul retains his place on Thursday, will he bowl?

Then to the batting. The Jason Roy-Rahmanullah Gurbaz pair didn’t put up a huge opening stand on Monday, but they showed some kind of stability that KKR’s other opening combinations haven’t been able to. That said, someone from their top four has to look to bat at least till the 17th-18th over, as a Russell or a Rinku Singh cannot be expected to deliver at the death all the time.

Besides, the dry Eden wicket, which was in use in the last game too, will aid spinners. While that’s obviously good news for KKR, they cannot be complacent as the Royals too are rich on spin with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa in their ranks.