Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) star all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer defied injury to whack a spectacular century against five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 16).
Venkatesh, who took just 49 balls to complete his century, clicked on a big milestone as he became just the second KKR batter besides Brendon McCullum to notch a ton in IPL. McCullum belted a century for KKR in the very first match of the inaugural IPL season in 2008 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). It has taken them 15 years to get a second centurion. In between, they have also conceded a massive 11 centuries. The 28-year-old clobbered 104 off 51 riding on six boundaries and nine maximums at a stunning strike rate of 204.08. Right after cracking the blistering ton, the Madhya Pradesh-based star batter pulled off a unique celebration. The swashbuckling batter bowed down at the KKR dugout while celebrating the century.
Here's the video…
Venkatesh made his IPL debut only in 2021, in the second half of the season which was held in the UAE. He showed his capabilities with both the bat and the ball in that season, proving his decision to make the switch from a cushy MBA job to a sport as unpredictable as cricket.
He made the chances count, both in the IPL as well as in the domestic cricket circuit and earned a call-up to the national team. Making his debut was not enough, however, and he could not keep the momentum going in IPL 2022. But this time around, it has been an exceptional performance from the KKR batter.
Against MI in the first match on Sunday's double-header treat, Venkatesh was the main aggressor for KKR despite the team losing wickets and struggling against the opponent bowlers. In fact, for the first 11 overs of the match, he was the only Kolkata batter who found the boundary on a regular for KKR!
By the 12th over, Venkatesh Iyer had 5 fours and 7 sixes while the rest of the KKR batters had 0 fours and 0 sixes.
Coming in to bat at no.3 after the wicket of N Jagadeesan has become the norm for Venkatesh. What makes his achievement even better is that in the opening stages of the match, he was hit on the knee and seemed in extreme pain for the next few overs, limping while running in between the wickets.
After stabilising his batting, Venkatesh took the game to the bowlers, taking them on and finding the boundary regularly. He went on to complete his century in the 17th over and then hit one more boundary before losing his wicket off Rilee Meredith's bowling. He finished with a score of 104, smashing 6 fours and 9 sixes, while his team set a target of 180 runs for the home side.
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