IPL 2021: Kolkata Knight Riders find a new hero in Venkatesh Iyer

Thursday night in the Indian Premier League belonged to an unlikely Venkatesh Iyer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. The left handed opener who was recently picked up by the Knights after a stunning Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, scored a breezy 41 in the 1st game of the renewed season vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.

In the 2nd game against their arch rivals Mumbai Indians, a lot depended on Iyer once again who plays for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket. A brutal 53 off 30 helped his side win easy and walk into the top half of the points table.

Captain Eoin Morgan was in awe of the left handed opener. He said in the post match press conference, "I think Venkatesh played an innings today that would match a guy who's played possibly 50 IPL games. The freedom he's played with has really... it's quite imposing as a batsman at the top of the order to be able to do that. And today was no different. He's continued on his form from the first day which, to come back to your question, I don't think it's one player, I think it's collectively and I think it's set up by our bowling line-up which was magnificent again."

A few years ago, Iyer who hails from Indore was on the verge of quitting the game and take up a corporate job. Armed with an MBA and offer letter, Iyer almost made the leap but a breakout season last year in the domestic circuit made him change his mind.