Venkatesh Iyer on Wednesday reached his third half-century in the Indian Premier League, continuing on his consistent run in the 2021 edition. His 55-run innings helped KKR register a three-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals to enter the final of the season.
Iyer's innings (55 off 41 deliveries) helped KKR to a quick start as the side put 96 for the first wicket in 12.2 overs. In a low-scoring run chase, Iyer's fast-paced knock put Delhi on the backfoot instantly before Rishabh Pant's side made a late comeback in the game.
However, Rahul Tripathi held his nerve in the final over to seal the victory for the Knight Riders.
The left-handed batter hit four fours and three sixes during his knock.
Iyer made his IPL debut for the Knight Riders earlier this season against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi.
Shines bright in his debut season
Iyer is currently the second-highest scorer in the UAE leg of the season (320 runs in 9 matches at a strike rate of 125).
During the innings against Delhi Capitals, he went past Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul and Glenn Maxwell to go second in the table. He remains only behind Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has scored 407 runs in the UAE leg so far.
| Player |
Matches (in UAE leg of IPL 2021) |
Runs |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) |
8 |
407 |
| Venkatesh Iyer (KKR) |
9 |
320 |
| KL Rahul (PBKS) |
6 |
295 |
Iyer began the season brightly with an unbeaten 41-run knock which steered the KKR to a nine-wicket victory. The batter followed the innings with a half-century against Mumbai Indians (53).
As the season entered the business end of the league stage, the 26-year-old also contributed with the ball, ending with figures of 2/29 against Delhi Capitals in a win that put KKR in the top-4.
He scored an important 26 in the eliminator match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, holding one end for more than half of KKR's innings as the side chased down the 139-run target with four wickets to spare
