Venkatesh Iyer made his presence felt with a fine half-century to help Kolkata Knight Riders post a competitive total.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Venkatesh Iyer has been arguably the most impressive player in the ongoing UAE leg of IPL 2021. Venkatesh did his glowing reputation no harm following a stunning 67 in Match 45 against Punjab Kings (PBKS), which helped the Kolkata-based franchise post a total of 165. The opener accumulated the tally of runs off 49 deliveries in an innings comprising of nine boundaries and a six. Rahul Tripathi was the second highest run-getter, with 34 runs from 26 balls which came on the back of three fours and a maximum. Nitish Rana chipped in with a quickfire 31 off 18 deliveries at a strike rate of 172.22, with the knock including two boundaries and sixes apiece.
It got slower after the batting powerplay, it is slow in general, and I had to take my time, pretty happy with the total we got. I keep in mind what my team wants from me, want to fulfill the responsibility from a team’s perspective, want to give a good start and keep the team’s requirements in mind, not my personal ambitions. We have got a lovely staff, Abhishek Nayar takes care of my batting and bowling, the workload management is absolutely lovely. We have games in short times and they take care of all the stuff,” said Venkatesh as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, accounting for three dismissals. Ravi Bishnoi was another key contributor, picking two wickets. Mohammed Shami accounted for the vital dismissal of Eoin Morgan, whose poor run shows no signs of ending.
Rahul won the toss and opted to field, with the Punjab-based franchise quite poor in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 so far. A win will certainly bring a smile on the faces of their fans. However, it will be tough in the absence of Chris Gayle with Fabian Allen included instead. Mayank Agarwal has replaced Mandeep Singh with Shahrukh Khan’s inclusion marking the third change in place of Harpreet Brar. One positive aspect for PBKS however is the absence of Andre Russell for KKR, with the Windies all-rounder sidelined. Tim Siefert replaces Lockie Ferguson with Shivam Mavi included in place of Sandeep Warrier.
Rahul opted to field taking into account the tricky surface.
“We will bowl first. The wicket has been quite tricky, some days it’s 180, some other days it’s 150. So it could be tricky to bat first, better for the opposition to set the target. Our bowling group has done well, but the batting hasn’t fired, but it’s another opportunity for us. Chris Gayle has left the bubble, Fabian Allen is in. Mayank replaces Mandeep and Shahrukh Khan is in, replacing Harpreet Brar,” he stated as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“It will be a challenge, but there’s no advantage chasing. The teams that play well have deserved the points. Two changes for us – one forced, Seifert is in for Lockie, Shivam Mavi replaces Sandeep Warrier. Both Lockie and Russell have been monitored and we’ll take a call on them. The wicket doesn’t look too bad, we’ll have to adapt to these conditions and play well,” said Morgan.
Lineups:
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w), Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.
