A relieved Shah Rukh Khan finally came out to the balcony of the ‘B’ block corporate box of Eden Gardens when Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins failed to connect the final ball of the game from Harshit Rana.

Given a massive scare by Heinrich Klaasen, the Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves in the final over to pull off a four-run win and secure full points in their IPL 2024 opener on Saturday.

No wonder their principal owner was a happy man as he stepped out to the field and congratulated KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit, mentor Gautam Gambhir, captain Shreyas Iyer and of course, Andre Russell, who made the difference with his unbeaten 25-ball 64.

It was after a long time that Russell played like Russell, dealing in maximums when his team needed them. Acknowledging he hasn’t had it easy in the IPL over the past year or two, Russell said he just tried to react the best way to whatever was thrown at him by the Sunrisers bowlers.

“Sometimes I try to realise how I’m striking the ball. I just tried to react to whatever came my way. Over the last year or two, bowlers have been exceptionally good against me. I’m still figuring out how to score though,” Russell, adjudged Man of the Match, said at the post-match presentation.

“I realise everyone is coming to me with a plan. I’ve been a permanent fixture in the (KKR) XI. What I did tonight (Saturday) is just to, say ‘keep supporting’. I did it right and I’m happy to contribute with this jersey on,” the Caribbean star said.