Following the KKR star’s century in the IPL 2023, a legendary England cricketer compared Venkatesh Iyer to AB de Villiers.
Venkatesh Iyer was in a hot structure against Mumbai Indians in Match 22 of IPL 2023, at the Wankhede Arena in Mumbai.
Refusing to. 3, Iyer pummeled 104 runs off 51 balls, loaded with six fours and nine sixes. He reached his tally in 49 balls and has since shocked experts and fans alike.
Brendon McCullum scored a century for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008, making this team’s first century in the IPL.
Just three players other than Iyer figured out how to cross the 10-run mark for KKR against MI, and it was pretty much a performance show. In the end, KKR scored 185/6 in 20 overs.
Talking on Star Sports, Britain legend Kevin Pietersen raved over Iyer and applauded his stroke play. The former RCB player also recalled how Iyer caught everyone’s attention during the UAE-based second leg of IPL 2021.
“He is a tall individual; He stands on top of the bounce due to his height. He also plays well off the back foot, which impressed me greatly. He doesn’t get bogged down by the spinners. He is a 360 sort of player”, he said.
He doesn’t hesitate to play anywhere on the ground. It was in Dubai that we previously saw him in the IPL where he illuminated the stage when he played two or three force shots and several drives.
I took a gander at him and thought ‘OK. This person has a few star qualities’ and today, we have seen it”, he further added.
Iyer is also leading the Orange Cap race after his injury with 234 runs in five matches at an average of 46.80 and a strike rate of 170.80. At an average of 116.50 and a 146.54 strike rate.
He beat Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 233 runs in four matches. Iyer had scored 370 runs for KKR in ten IPL 2021 matches.