Venkatesh Iyer records fourth successive 50+ score in IPL playoffs
Venkatesh Iyer powered Kolkata Knight Riders to their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title on May 26. The left-handed batter smashed a 26-ball 52* as KKR chased down 114 to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided IPL 2024 final in Chennai. Venkatesh recorded his fourth successive 50+ score in IPL playoffs. He also starred in KKR's win against SRH in Qualifier 1.
A counter-attacking knock from Venkatesh
KKR lost Sunil Narine early on, with skipper Pat Cummins dismissing him. However, Venkatesh and Gurbaz made it a one-sided affair with a fitting counter-attack. The duo added 91 runs before skipper Shreyas Iyer joined in. Venkatesh, who hit the winning runs in the 11th over, slammed a 26-ball 52*, a knock laced with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Another 50+ score for Venkatesh
As mentioned, Venkatesh smashed his fourth successive 50+ score in IPL playoffs. He also smashed an unbeaten 51 in KKR's win against SRH in Qualifier 1. Before this, the KKR batter scored 50 against eventual champions Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021 final in Dubai. Earlier that year, he slammed 55 against Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 in Sharjah.
Venkatesh surpass Lendl Simmons
It is worth noting that Venkatesh broke Lendl Simmons's record for recording three successive 50+ score in the IPL playoffs/knockouts. Overall, only Suresh Raina has more 50+ scores in the IPL playoffs (7).
Third-most runs for KKR in IPL 2024
Overall, Venkatesh scored four half-centuries in IPL 2024. He finished as the third-highest run-scorer for the Knight Riders. The left-hander slammed 370 runs at a remarkable strike-rate of 158.79. He averaged a phenomenal 46.25 with the bat in the season. Venkatesh hammered 19 sixes and 35 fours in IPL 2024. In the final, he raced past 1,300 runs in the tournament.
