Emerging allrounder Venkatesh Iyer proved his worth yet again as he bowled a tense penultimate over in the One Day Cup in England to help Lancashire finish their campaign with a win.
Playing for Lancashire, Iyer took the onus upon his shoulders to deliver the penultimate over of the game with Worcestershire needing 16 runs to win off 12 balls. The game looked evenly poised as Worcestershire only had two wickets left in their kitty.
Worcestershire had Tom Hinley and Hishaam Khan at the crease. Hinley was batting on 23* off 14 balls and fancied his chances of taking his team over the line.
The over started on a positive note for Hinley and Worcestershire as the first two deliveries fetched them eight runs in the form of a leg bye and a bye. Iyer was under the pump straight away and it showed on the field as he delivered a wide on the next ball.
He then conceded a single to Hinley and bowled another wide before conceding another single to Hishaam. With four runs required of eight legitimate deliveries the odds were stacked against Iyer and Lancashire but the star India allrounder turned the tables upside down.
Iyer used his tactical brilliance to good effect and banged one short to entice Hinley to target the deep mid-wicket fence. Iyer already had a fielder manning the deep mid-wicket boundary and Hinley fell for the bait and ended up hitting the aerial pull shot straight down Harry Singh's throat at deep mid-wicket.
Watch Venkatesh Iyer's match-winning over for Lancashire in One Day Cup:
Hinley's wicket gave Iyer and his side the much-needed boost. Harry Darley came into the middle to replace Hinley and Iyer outfoxed him with a well-disguised slower one. Darley failed to get bat on the ball and was pinned in front of his stumps. The umpire raised the finger and Venkatesh Iyer snatched a hard-fought win for Lancashire from the jaws of defeat.
Notably, the win helped Lancashire end their One Day Cup campaign on a satisfactory note. They finished the tournament at the bottom of the table with two wins and six defeats in eight games.
