As the dew set in, it became easier to bat - Venkatesh Iyer

It was a tale of two halves at the Chinnaswamy on March 29 when the much-anticipated clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders took place. While batting seemed like a tricky job in the first innings after the powerplay, it became quite a pleasant job in the next innings as KKR’s openers - Phil Salt and Sunil Narine - clobbered 85 runs in the powerplay and effectively killed the run chase, then and there. 

KKR pacers identified the help that was there for them, especially when they bowled into the pitch and on a length. Even spinner Anukul Roy returned with miserly figures of 2-0-6-0. 

While batting, Venkatesh Iyer, who scored 50 off 30 balls and took KKR through, felt that the pitch eased up quite a bit in the second innings. 

“Obviously, the pitch got better as the game progressed. There was one end that was still tricky. I think the far end was still tricky. The ball was stopping, it was slightly two-paced in terms of bounce but it certainly got better. That’s what the communication was - to target the bowlers from that end.”

KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer saw that the pitch wasn’t aiding spinners a lot, and hence, he decided to give Andre Russell his full quota of four overs. The T20 veteran didn’t disappoint and returned with figures of 29/2 in four overs at an economy of 7.25. Venkatesh was all praise when asked about this performance, especially in the context of Russell’s fitness, which has been under the radar for sometime now. 

“As you could see on the field, he bowled his four overs, he fielded in crucial positions and was running from long on to long on throughout the game. And I’m sure if he had got a hit, he would have scored runs as well. That speaks volumes about his fitness and the longevity in his career.”

“Today Shreyas saw that the ball was not spinning much, and it was time for Dre Russ to bowl his full quota, and he delivered. That’s why he’s one of the finest T20 players. Whenever the team requires anything of him, he’s ready to deliver that.”

This was KKR’s eighth consecutive win at the Chinnaswamy against the RCB, and they would hope to continue the momentum gained from this game further in the long summer ahead.