On a Sunday afternoon in Chennai Left at the M. A. Chidambaram stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders convincingly defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad to claim their third IPL crown.
However, it was a standout performance from Venkatesh Iyer that caught the eye. His knock was crucial in three respects: firstly, he finished unbeaten on 52 off 26 balls; secondly, it showed how much his game has improved; and lastly, it drew praise from cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar.
KKR bowlers set the stage and just bundled out SRH for a mere 113. Afterward, Venkatesh led with an aggressive half-ton to finish with 57 balls remaining thus earning KKR’s win. He played a major role in getting this team’s emphatic eight-wicket triumph.Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar highlighted the marked improvement in Venkatesh Iyer’s approach and game this season compared to the last. He suggested that these enhancements could lead him to earn a recall back to India team as an all-rounder.
“He also thinks differently and he has been batting differently this time,” Gavaskar observed.“So probably again be India prospect because he bowls.” “He is also very good fielder.” “You know if you are left-hander middle order batter in T20 or weekend cricket plus throws few overs too—tare apart!”, Gavaskar responded.
Gavaskar noted that in the previous season, Venkatesh Iyer had shown signs of overconfidence leading to his dismissals. While he scored a hundred against Mumbai, his tendency was to go big soon after arriving at the crease and this affected his consistency. In IPL 2023 Venkat aggregated 404 runs at an average of 28.86 in fourteen innings but this season he scored 370 runs from thirteen innings at an average of 46.25 which shows that he has been doing well.
“This time we didn’t see that.” “There were some ground shots and then, as you saw today, the way attacked Bhuvi,” Gavaskar noted. “He knew that if they lose two or three wickets in the first six overs then they will be under pressure.”
Gavaskar praised Iyer for his approach especially when it came to facing Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was their main Left-handed bowler.
“Bhuvi is particularly dangerous when the ball swings from him. And so when we look at how he went down the track and hit him for two sixes it disturbed Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s line and length. But once a batter does that, he dominates,” Gavaskar explained.
Gavaskar’s comments emphasize the changes Iyer has made this year to his game; indicating that perhaps his improved batting technique plus astute thinking process could make him to have good chances of being picked into Indian national team again.
