Kolkata Knight Riders earned a thrilling win against Mumbai Indians yesterday to end their 12-year wait for a victory at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing a 170-run target in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 fixture, the five-time champions fell short by 24 runs.
It was Venkatesh Iyer who played a sublime knock to guide the visitors to a defendable total of 169. Iyer came up with a crucial knock of 70 off 52 balls. In the bowling department, it was Mitchell Starc who excelled for KKR. Starc scripted sensational figures of 4/33 in 3.5 overs to register a win for the two-time IPL winners. Following the game against MI, the two architects of KKR’s win were engaged in a chat.
A video of their discussion was shared on the official website of IPL. Starc lavished immense praise on Venkatesh Iyer for his superb batting. “I think the feature of your innings was playing all around the ground. You switch-hit, you sort of stepping out and giving you space over the off side. How did you go about thinking your way through that? Was it just sort of see the ball and play a shot or premeditate sometimes,” KKR’s Australia speedster asked.
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Venkatesh Iyer responded by saying, “Obviously, these shots are premeditated but when a bowler is not giving you the line and length to hit down the ground which I feel is my strength then you have to think out of the box.”
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“You need to look for boundaries but the message came from Abhishek Nayar as well, he wanted me to try the reverse lap instead of the conventional paddle. He was telling me throughout the innings. I tried it and got out so I should listen to him more. It is not always easy to hit bowlers down the ground. You need to look for spaces. Especially what Surya does, you know where fielders are up, he tends to hit them there,” the southpaw added.
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Venkatesh Iyer was adjudged Player of the Match for his astounding knock against MI. Iyer’s 70-run knock comprised six boundaries and three sixes. The 24-run win helped KKR to move to 14 points in the IPL 2024 standings. The Shreyas Iyer-led side currently finds themselves at the second spot on the points table. They are currently two points behind table-toppers Rajasthan Royals.
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