Dubai: Kolkata Knight Riders though didn’t managed to perform as per the expectations in the final of the Indian Premier League(IPL) this season suffering a 27 run defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in Dubai last Friday but their resurgence in the second half of the campaign was a rather inspiring one.
Besides the bowlers who out with stellar performances, one man was undoubtedly the catalyst behind turn-around for the KKR side, that’s opening batsman Venkatesh Iyer. The lanky southpaw from Indore, who wasn’t even given game in the first phase India, smashed 370 runs from 10 games, he played in UAE.
KKR had serious issues at the top for the past couple of seasons. While the two IPL time champions tried and tested a few options like Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi or Sunil Narine, none were able fit in. However, the 26 year old emerged as the missing block of the puzzle for Eoin Morgan’s side gelling superbly alongside Subhman Gill and the results were there to be seen.
Runs at the top is always crucial for any side and Iyer did it ease not just with at an average of 41.11 but also with a steady strike rate of 128.47. He announced his arrival with a blistering 27 ball 41 in KKR’s first game in UAE against Royal Challengers Bangalore helping them chase down a mere total for 93 in just 10 overs before repeating again with a 30 ball 53 against Mumbai Indians in the next game in a winning cause. The endeavor of his knocks was such that it even helped Kolkata to improve their net run-rate which later helped them massively to qualify for the play-offs.
Even Brendon McCullum, the Knight Riders coach was full of praise about the south paw’s influence on the side.
“He’s got an enormous future in this game and he’s a very intelligent man. He was a big catalyst for our turnaround this season,” the Kiwi added.
He even played his role as a medium-pacer on slow UAE wickets aiding perfectly for KKR during the crucial middle over enabling himself as an option for an possible all-rounder.
He can be called as a true all-rounder in his life as well. Iyer made his first-class debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy while he was pursuing a MBA in finance simultaneously. He smashed a 146-ball 198 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game earlier this year against Punjab starred 20 boundaries and seven sixes before making it to the KKR set-up.
Iyer through got a valuable reward for his performances in the IPL as he has been asked to stay back as a cover and will stay with the rest of the Indian squad in the bubble ahead of the start of the ICC T20 World Cup for all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
