Despite suffering their second straight loss when they faced the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, the Kolkata Knight Riders found a hero in all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. Former England batting great Kevin Pietersen praised the KKR batsman after his historic century.
Venkatesh Iyer’s ground-breaking century allowed Nitish Rana’s KKR to put a respectable score on the board. The intimidating hitter was upfront about his intentions and did not spare any Mumbai Indians bowlers throughout his punishing innings.
As a result of his ability to use a variety of shots to access all areas of the field, Kevin Pietersen dubbed him a “360-degree player.”
“He’s a tall guy; his height causes him to stand on top of the bounce. He also played off the back foot, which I found to be extremely impressive, and he also avoided being slowed down by the spinners. On Star Sports, Kevin Pietersen described him as a “360 kind of player.”
This guy has serious star potential, as we saw today: Iyer played some eye-catching strokes in one of his innings during the pandemic-affected season, as Pietersen Pietersen recalled. Iyer’s century was notable since it was only the second century by a KKR player since the competition’s establishment. The first was Brendon McCullum’s legendary 158* in the inaugural IPL game in 2008.
He is unafraid to play everywhere on the ground. We first encountered him at the IPL in Dubai, when he captivated the crowd with a few pull shots and drives. The former RCB star continued, “I looked at him and thought, ‘Okay, this guy has some star quality,’ and today, we have seen it.
After a dominant performance by the Mumbai hitters, Iyer’s heroics were in vain as the home team easily chased down the mark with more than two overs to spare.