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Venkatesh Iyer made it to the record books on Sunday afternoon as he became the second Kolkata Knight Riders cricketer – after Brendon McCullum – to score a century (104, 51b, 6×4, 9×6) in the Indian Premier League (IPL)
In a Wankhede Stadium surface where the batters struggled against the cutters and slower deliveries, Venkatesh found boundaries at will and rode on some clean hitting to bring up his maiden ton in the tournament and also guided the team to 185 for six.
But at the end of it all, it was a heartbreak for the visiting side as Mumbai Indians rode on Ishan Kishan’s half-century and a crucial 43 (25b, 4×4, 3×6) by Suryakumar Yadav, who led the team as regular captain Rohit Sharma had to sit out in the first innings due to a stomach bug, to clinch a convincing five-wicket win.
In its previous nine outings at the iconic venue, Mumbai Indians won on eight occasions and this time around, Venkatesh’s superlative innings had given KKR a ray of hope. But as the game progressed, things went MI’s way as none of the KKR bowlers – barring spinner Suyash Sharma, who claimed a couple of wickets – failed to make an impact.
After struggling in the first three games, the seasoned Suryakumar stepped up when it mattered and forged two crucial partnerships – a 60 with Tilak Varma and then a 29-run stand with Tim David – to guide the team home with 14 balls to spare.
-Shayan Acharya
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