IPL 2023: News - Venkatesh Iyer opens up on his role in the KKR team

Kolkata Knight Riders’ swashbuckling batter Venkatesh Iyer scored a scintillating century against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, 16 April. This was Iyer’s maiden hundred in the Indian Premier League, which is KKR’s only second ton after Brendon McCullum’s sensational 158* against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first-ever match of the tournament in 2008 as well.

However, Iyer spoke about his innings in the IPL 2023 and also said that it was a great feeling to score a century in Mumbai. When he was asked about his role for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the batter kept it simple and said that he was not at all bothered about his batting position as well.

“See, my role is simple. It doesn’t matter which over I am batting in. Whether it be the 16th over or in the 6th over, it’s very straight and simple. Stand there and hit quick runs and not take a big headache on the overall proceedings,” Venkatesh Iyer said in the mid-innings interview with the broadcaster.

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Meanwhile, other batters did not find the wicket easy to bat on, as the ball was swinging early and then stopping later on as well. Iyer also said that KKR’s score was defendable but the team was required to bowl well. The batter also applauded KKR mentor Abhishek Nayar and said that the century was a result of countless practice sessions as well.

“The work our mentor Abhishek Nayar has done is brilliant. He was working with me a lot. This is the result of many nets sessions, many practice sessions and following the process regularly,” Venkatesh Iyer concluded.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, got off to a flying start, courtesy of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. They dominated the powerplay overs and added 65 runs before Rohit got out on the fifth ball of the penultimate powerplay over as well. And, Mumbai Indians’ stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav lauded opener Ishan Kishan for his quickfire half-century where he scored 58 off 25 balls.

“We thought the wicket was a little dry in the afternoon, but the way the guys batted settled it down in the evening. In day games at the Wankhede, 160-170 is a good score and can be chasable too if one gets a good start. That is what exactly Kishan did. He got us off to a great start,” Suryakumar Yadav spoke during the post-match presentation.

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Meanwhile, the captain himself scored well in the game, scoring 43 runs off 25 balls. Suryakumar Yadav got out when Mumbai needed just 10 runs to win as well.

“I would have loved to finish the game but happy with the way I batted. I was very pleased with how the team performed. I took my time with the first five-seven balls, thinking that if I could get my eye in, I could score. I walked onto bat very confident, relaxed and tension free. We know what kind of firepower we have lower down the order if the top order gives us a good start. (Piyush Chawla) It was a legendary spell. He raised his hand when were under pressure. He always asks for the bowling whenever the pressure is there,” he concluded his post-match presentation.