Varun Aaron heaped praise on Venkatesh Iyer for taking the attack to Jasprit Bumrah during KKR’s IPL 2024 match against MI on Saturday, May 11 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The left-handed Iyer had a huge task in hand, especially after the Knight Riders lost the early wickets of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine. Instead of going into his shell, Iyer scored 42 runs off 21 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
It was in the fourth over when Iyer laid into Bumrah and injected momentum into the KKR innings with a 15-run over. Iyer collected a four through the third man region after which he smacked Bumrah for a six over mid-wicket. Iyer finished the over with another scorching boundary over the bowler’s head.
KKR vs MI, IPL 2024: Highlights
“It was refreshing to see a batter take the attack to Bumrah and not actually play him out, which was really nice because he took some risks,” Aaron told ESPNcricinfo.
“He stepped down the wicket, made some room for himself , he just wasn’t in that mindset, ‘You know what, this is Bumrah, I am going to play him out’. Rather, he took the attack to him, which was great,” Aaron added.
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Iyer’s knock takes KKR to playoffs
Just when it seemed that Iyer would get a big score, Piyush Chawla cut short his stay. Iyer was KKR’s standout batter as the 2-time champions scored 157 for 7 in a rain-curtailed 16-over match.
Iyer’s knock paid dividends as KKR won the match by 14 runs and became the first team to book their berth in the playoffs. With 18 points to their name, the Knight Riders also strengthened their hold on the top spot. With a net run rate of +1.428, KKR are also close to finishing the league stage in the top 2, thereby taking part in the Qualifier 1.
Source Agencies
