It wasn't meant to be for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2021. After losing five of their first seven matches in India, the two-time champions won seven out of nine to make the final. The stellar comeback deserved a better ending but such is the nature of sport. However, Eoin Morgan and Co. will take back a lot of positives from this team, especially the emergence of their swashbuckling opener Venkatesh Iyer. This is something that even Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt agrees with.
In the first half of the season, the Knight Riders were unable to enjoy strong starts despite the presence of Team India opener Shubman Gill. Come the second phase, Iyer was asked to open with Gill and they delivered the goods. With 4 half-centuries, including a 50 in the final against CSK in Dubai on Friday, the southpaw smashed 370 runs in 10 matches.
While reviewing the final in a video on his YouTube channel, Butt acknowledged the role Iyer played in KKR's revival and went on to call him the ‘find of the season.'
“If you have a look at KKR's openers (while comparing them to their CSK counterparts), they batted outstandingly well. Gill was on the slower side but Venkatesh Iyer batted so beautifully. I reckon he is the find of the season for KKR and he is also one of the finds of IPL,” reasoned Butt.
{{/usCountry}}“If you have a look at KKR's openers (while comparing them to their CSK counterparts), they batted outstandingly well. Gill was on the slower side but Venkatesh Iyer batted so beautifully. I reckon he is the find of the season for KKR and he is also one of the finds of IPL,” reasoned Butt.
{{/usCountry}}The southpaw, explaining further, said: “ It was his first final, it was a pressure match and it was a big chase, and yet he scored a fifty and batted very well.”
Batting first, Chennai posted 192-3 in their 20 overs, led by a brilliant 59-ball 86 from opener Faf du Plessis. In response, Kolkata fell short by 27, despite finding themselves at 91-1 in 10.4 overs. Apart from Iyer and Gill (55), no other batsman could fire. They were eventually restricted to 165/9.