Venkatesh Iyer has not played a single T20I since February 2022. After a mediocre Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he did not get to play another T20I as Hardik Pandya made a comeback to the Indian side. Few months later, Venkatesh has proved that he can still be considered for the all-rounder role with a record-breaking performance in his first match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2022 season.
Venkatesh smashed an unbeaten 62 off just 31 deliveries to help Madhya Pradesh post a fighting total of 173/5 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. He followed it up with a six-wicket haul to derail Rajasthan's run chase and rewrote the history books. Venkatesh's 6/20 is the best bowling figures for a Madhya Pradesh bowler in the history of SMAT. He broke Jalaj Saxena's record which is more than a decade old.
Venkatesh came in to bat at no.3 after a slow start from openers Chanchal Rathore and Kuldeep Gehi. Venkatesh smashed Rajasthan bowlers that include the likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rahul Chahar and Aniket Choudhary. The left-handed batter hit five fours and four sixes as he scored at a strike rate of 200.
With the help of Shubham Sharma's cameo (32), Madhya Pradesh posted 173/5. Venkatesh remained unperturbed by Rajasthan's impact player Anirudh Singh as well. Anirudh took two wickets and conceded just 16 runs in three overs he bowled.
Chasing 174, Rajasthan were on the right track as the second-wicket partnership between Yash Kothari and Salman Khan looked threatening. Venkatesh was introduced into the attack and he got the wicket of both the batters. Salman’s wicket was a big one as he had scored 44 runs from 34 deliveries including four fours and one six. Kothari was playing second fiddle in the partnership as he scored 36 runs from 37 deliveries.
After Salman's wicket, Venkatesh rushed through Rajasthan's batting order. He finished with six wickets for 20 runs from his four overs. Rajasthan's middle-order crumbled and they could not even get close to the target. With four balls left in the innings, they were all out for 135. Venkatesh's all-round performance helped Madhya Pradesh register a comfortable 38-run win.
