Venkatesh Iyer does not need a second invitation to be among the runs against Mumbai Indians (MI). In the last game against the same opposition, he came in with his side three-down, inside the powerplay, and anchored the innings to take Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a competitive total. That was good enough as KKR snapped their streak of registering their first win over MI at the Wankhede Stadium since 2012.
Even on May 11 (Saturday), he was once again on the attack right away. He fell down with a lot of pain while completing a run, and it looked as though he might actually walk off as it seemed like he had pulled his hamstring. But once he was ready to go, he took on Jasprit Bumrah, hitting 4, 6, and 4, making his intentions clear. Who better to make a statement against than Bumrah, arguably the best bowler in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season?
In his first 10 balls, Venky told MI that it was going to be yet another long night for them.
Not just that, he has slammed nearly 30% of his IPL runs against the five-time champions. However, his 42 today is the lowest he has scored against Mumbai – and only the second time has he missed out on scoring a fifty against them in the IPL.
He has batted in every position this season from 3-8, making him the ultimate team man. Not just that, he has come as early as the first over, the third over, the sixth over and also the seventh over, and more often than not, those are situations where the team has relied on him to either get them out of jail or keep the momentum going. Even today, he came in after Phil Salt was dismissed in the first over, but then when he left at 77/4 after 8.1 overs, the platform had been set.
While he has delivered more often than not with small cameos and a couple of match-winning knocks, the franchise's confidence in him should not go unnoticed.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, Shubman Gill was let go by the franchise, ahead of Iyer. It seemed like a bad move as Gill had two top seasons with Gujarat Titans (GT), with his side ending up in the final in 2022 and 2023. However, Venky and KKR, on the other hand, could not finish above seventh and there was a stark contrast between the impact Gill and Iyer had for their respective franchises.
The tables have turned this season as Gill, who is leading GT for the first time, has failed to be as good as he was in the last two seasons. Iyer, though, seems as though he is playing with the sort of freedom required to do the job for his side.
His link-up with Chandrakant Pandit, with whom he has worked at Madhya Pradesh, too would have certainly helped. While 2023 did not go their way, KKR went back to the drawing board and got some valuable additions to their squad and now find themselves on the cusp of not only qualifying for the playoffs but also finishing in the top two.
An average of over 33 and a strike rate close to 150 is much better than what Iyer has achieved in the last two seasons combined. While KKR would have put their hopes on another Iyer (Shreyas) to deliver, they will for now have to make do with Venkatesh. Not only has he exceeded his skipper in terms of impact, but he has exceeded everyone’s expectations with how well he has handled his role in the middle order.
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