If he misses, I hit: When an unfazed Chris Morris warned Andre Russell of his ability

There are certain players in the world who have a superhuman ability to install fear. The sheer brilliance of Virat Kohli, the genius of AB De Villiers, the belligerence of Andre Russell strike fear in the bowlers’ hearts. When they get going, most bowlers hope the captain has forgotten of their presence on the field. But Chris Morris is different. He does not back down, he simply does not.

In the midst of the 2019 season when the Delhi Capitals were to host KKR, Russell was the talk of the town. Before the game when quizzed about how he would stop the marauding all-rounder from the Caribbean, Morris would not be dazed. He starts his response off with a sense of appreciation for his opponent, "He (Russell) is an absolute genius.”

But at the same time, the kind of bullish cricketer Morris is, he would not run away from the challenge. “It will be a case of 'if he misses, I hit’,” he warns. “I won't give away too many secrets. I might look like a duck, but my brain is working overtime and I will look to trust my training,” Morris says. 

Cut to a day later, Morris finds himself bowling to a set Andre Russell who has dismantled the leg-spin duo of Sandeep Lamichhane and Amit Mishra. Morris is tasked with having to bowl at an on-rampage Andre Russell. He concedes 17 runs from his first over of the spell. He’s struck for two boundaries again in his next, both by Russell. At this point, the muscular big-hitter seems to have won the battle. He’s batting on 62 off only 27 balls. A century is on the cards perhaps even with less than 15 balls left in the innings.  

But, Morris simply does not back down. A bouncer off the next cherry, Russell looks to pull, manages a top edge. The Delhi Capitals' fielders sense their best chance at stemming the onslaught; Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Tewatia narrowly avoid a collision and the latter holds on to the catch. Morris has the last laugh over his menacing opponent.