MATCH STORY
Follow UsIn the shadows of Phil Salt’s breakout season and Sunil Narine having one of the best years ever in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Venkatesh Iyer’s contribution has gone under the radar.
In terms of runs, he is Kolkata Knight Riders’ fourth-highest run-scorer, scoring 318 runs at an average of 39.8 while striking at 153.6. Shreyas Iyer has scored more runs (345), but Venkatesh is far ahead in terms of impact.
To begin with, Venkatesh was a big reason behind KKR finishing at the top of the points table with some vital knocks. Against Mumbai Indians in Match 51, he scored 70 off 52 balls, carrying KKR from 57/5 to a match-winning score of 169. In the reverse fixture, his 42 off 21 balls came when Narine was out for a first-ball duck. Both times he top-scored, leading to the first occasion of them beating Mumbai twice in a season with the home and away format. More than that, those two wins created the difference between them and the other teams on the points table.
In Qualifier 1 on Tuesday (May 21), the left-hander showcased his value to the side again. Although most of the work was done by the bowlers, Sunrisers Hyderabad were still not completely out of the game when Venkatesh walked in to bat at number three. They needed 116 from 100 balls with nine wickets in hand. It was a comfortable position, but with no Salt in the XI and Narine not sending the ball into the outfield like the league stage, KKR needed someone to knock the opposition out of the contest. Sunil Narine was out for 21 off 16 balls.
That is when Venkatesh took over. He clobbered an unbeaten 51 off 28 balls, scoring his third fifty of the season. He struck three fours and a six in his first 10 balls, his only scoring shots in that period, bringing the equation down to 86 off 84 balls with eight wickets left.
Throughout the season, the 29-year-old has been equally good against pace and spin. In probably the only caveat, his strike rate against spin is much lower than pace.
However, SRH’s spin attack is non-existent, and Venkatesh whacked them out of the park, scoring 20 off the nine balls he faced against spin. He clobbered Vijakanth Viyaskanth for two sixes and Travis Head for a four. Against pace, he collected 31 off 19 balls.
Venkatesh partnered with Shreyas to forge an unbeaten 97-run stand from only 44 balls to complete a one-sided win for KKR. He completed his fifty off 28 balls before a flurry of boundaries from Shreyas took him to his 23-ball fifty and KKR across the line. Like many of his previous contributions in the season, Venkatesh again played a crucial role in a KKR victory.
Kolkata are now set for their second final in four years. Coincidentally, their last final was also based on a brilliant season with the bat for Venkatesh when he changed KKR’s fortunes upside down in the second half of the 2021 edition. In another sweet coincidence, KKR’s first final in 2012 was also played in Chennai.
It is all coming together for KKR in 2024, and Venkatesh Iyer’s contribution is worth its weight in gold.
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