Vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer learned quickly from his below-par performances, delivering a crucial 29-ball 60 to help Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs in the Indian Premier League at Eden Gardens on Thursday night.
Having fallen cheaply in two previous matches, Venkatesh reflected on his approach. “Maybe I was rushing a little in the initial two matches. For me, it has always been to keep things simple. Because my batting position is such that the situations that I will play will keep on changing. I always need to understand what mindset I am carrying,” he said.
Discussing his 91-run partnership with Rinku Singh, Venkatesh emphasised the importance of assessing the pitch before accelerating. “The main communication was (sent) by Ajinkya (Rahane) and Angkrish (Raghuvanshi)… that it’s not an easy pitch to just go out there and hit. The ball was sticking a little, it was turning. Even if I take a few balls, I know that if I can cover it to an extent, we still have the engine room (staff) who can demolish any bowling attack.”
The KKR vice-captain highlighted that for his team, aggression meant consistently posting above-par totals in a calculated manner. Praising the home bowlers, he stressed the need for players to adapt to different surfaces while advocating for pitches suited to the host team’s strengths.
SRH bowling coach James Franklin admitted his side struggled in the death overs. “Sixty-six with our last four overs probably reflects that we didn’t get it quite right,” he said.
