Fans praised Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer for his aggressive match-winning knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday (March 29). KKR won the match by seven wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
After losing the toss, RCB scored a respectable 182/6 in the first innings, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 83*(59). Andre Russell and Harshit Rana were the Kolkata team’s standout bowlers, both taking two wickets.
KKR then raced to 86 in 6.2 overs, thanks to blazing strokes from Sunil Narine (47) and Phil Salt (30). RCB believed that Narine’s maiden wicket in the seventh over would temporarily halt the rapid scoring pace.
At number three, Venkatesh Iyer didn’t let the openers’ efforts go waste. His intent-filled knock smashed bowlers around the park for 50 off 30 balls. In the 16th over, just 16 runs from victory, he departed. Then Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh finished the match in the 17th over. This win took their side to second place in the points table.
Fans were impressed by Venkatesh Iyer’s knock against RCB. Here are some X (formerly Twitter) reactions:
Venkatesh Iyer Remarks on Pitch Improvement during KKR’s Victory over RCB in IPL 2024
Speaking after the match, Venkatesh Iyer pondered on the triumph and said:
“To be honest, the pitch got better for batting as the game progressed. The ball was coming nicely onto the bat and credit goes to Narine with the way he started the innings. We just had to carry on and finish the formalities. When you go in, you have to capitalize on the momentum set.”
Venkatesh Iyer
He continued:
“My fiance is here, I would like to credit this innings to her. I think Vyshak bowled really well. He understood and assessed the pitch really well, so it was a little tough to face him. Even when we bowled the quick deliveries, we were taken to the cleaners. So as a batter, it was important to wait for those loose deliveries and make them count. It’s just a little jacked up, I’ll have to go and get it scanned. Let’s see (on his back injury).”
Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer will return to action on April 3, when KKR faces DC in their next IPL 2024 encounter.