IPL 2023: Despite suffering their second straight loss at the hands of the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, the Kolkata Knight Riders found a hero in all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. After the KKR batsman scored a century, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen heaped admiration on him.
Venkatesh Iyer’s ground-breaking century helped Nitish Rana’s KKR achieve a respectable total. The tall batsman didn’t hold back throughout his devastating innings, sparing not a single bowler for the Mumbai Indians. Kevin Pietersen called him a “360-degree player” because his arsenal of shots allows him to score from wherever on the field.
Kevin Pietersen heaps praise on Venkatesh Iyer after his century against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023
“He is a tall guy; he stands on top of the bounce because of his height. I’m very impressed with the way he played off the back foot too, and he also doesn’t get bogged down by the spinners. He is a 360 kind of player,” Kevin Pietersen said on Star Sports.
Pietersen recalled an inning in which Iyer played some impressive shots during the pandemic-stricken season. Brendon McCullum scored 158* in the first IPL match in 2008, making Iyer’s century just the second century scored by a KKR player in the history of the league.
“He is not afraid to play all around the ground. It was in Dubai that we first saw him in the IPL where he lit the stage up when he played a couple of pull shots and a couple of drives. I looked at him and thought ‘Okay, this guy has some star quality’ and today, we have seen it,” Pietersen added.
After a strong showing by the Mumbai batters, the home team easily chased down the mark with more than two overs to spare, rendering Iyer’s heroics meaningless.
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