Venkatesh Iyer once again stood tall in a crucial match for Kolkata Knight Riders and helped them reach the final of the IPL for the fourth time. His team defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets. Venkatesh smashed a 28-ball 51 not out as KKR chased down a modest target of 160 with 38 balls to spare and completely stamped their authority on the 2016 champions.
The left-handed batsman teased the SRH bowlers for fun and produced a six-hit feat with 4 maximums as KKR took the lead in the game despite losing their openers Sunil Narine (21) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23) early. Earlier, Mitchell Starc broke the back of SRH’s dangerous batting line-up with three wickets in the Powerplay. They were eventually bowled out for just 159 runs in 19.3 overs as the chase turned out to be a cake walk for KKR with half centuries from Iyer.
Mamba Mentality ft. Venkatesh Iyer 🗿🔥 pic.twitter.com/KH28toILce
— Aditya ❄️ (@Hurricanrana_27) May 21, 2024
After the match, Venkatesh was in a jovial mood as he displayed his ‘mamba side’ before an interview with broadcasters. The stylish batter stood, struck a side pose and the camera started rolling as broadcaster Harsha Bhogle was stunned by his antics.
However, he immediately apologized to the senior broadcaster with a smile on his face.
After KKR’s last two league stage matches were swept away, the Madhya Pradesh batsman asserted that he was a little desperate to showcase his talents in the middle.
“The more confidence I had to go out and bat, we played the last game on the 11th, so we were all excited to go out and show our talent. The wicket was really good, credit to our bowlers for bowling. Out for 160 odd,” he told broadcasters. .
Venkatesh, who is now a senior member of the KKR camp, said the team was disappointed that the last two matches were left as momentum as the break may have shifted the momentum their way.
“In a tournament like this, momentum is really important, we’ve seen RCB win their matches consistently and gain momentum but we needed that momentum, so we wanted to go out and stop the rain but it was disappointing.” he added.
Meanwhile, he credited the team management and owners Shah Rukh Khan and Jai Mehta for always motivating the players and keeping their morale high.
“But, we were table toppers and we got a lot of support from the management, credit to the owners, SRK and Jai sir were also there tonight to support us,” said Venkatesh.
