Venkatesh Iyer called ‘INR 23.75 crore fraud’ by fans after 19-ball 14 vs GT: 'Can't escape criticism any longer'
Venkatesh Iyer scored 14 runs off 19 balls at a poor strike rate of 73.68 in the 199-run chase against Gujarat Titans.
Venkatesh Iyer failed to live up to the hefty price tag once again and flopped with the bat against the Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens. Venkatesh, who was signed for a whopping INR 23.75 crore by KKR, is turning out to be one of the biggest flops of the season. The left-handed batter scored 14 off 19 balls at a poor strike rate of 73.68 on Monday in a 199-run chase. He struggled to get going on a tricky batting surface and failed to hit a single boundary during his stay in the middle.
He stitched a 41-run stand with skipper Ajinkya Rahane, but the slow knock only pressured his partner to take risks for boundaries.
The left-handed batter has been a big letdown for the defending champions and scored just 129 runs in 8 matches at an underwhelming average of 25.80.
The mega price tag also puts him under the scanner whenever he comes out to bat, and the pressure is not helping him at all.
After his sluggish knock against GT, the fans on social media slammed him for his batting approach in a tall chase.
Earlier, KKR lost their openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (1) and Sunil Narine (17) early in the powerplay, which put pressure on Ajinkya Rahane, who once again thrived and scored a fighting half-century off 36 balls. The skipper kept the scoreboard moving during his stand with Venkatesh, who was struggling throughout his stay. The left-handed batter was dismissed by R Sai Kishore when he swept the ball over mid-wicket, only to get caught by Washington Sundar.
Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan continue to fire for GT
Sent to bat first, Gujarat Titans posted a formidable 198/3 courtesy impressive knocks from opening pair Shubman Gill (90) and Sai Sudharsan (52). Gill looked set for his maiden ton of the season but fell for 90 off 55 balls, swat-flicking a full toss from Vaibhav Arora straight to Rinku Singh at deep square leg, missing out by just 10 runs. His knock included 10 fours and three sixes. Together with Sudharshan, Gill added 114 runs for the opening stand. Jos Buttler, despite a promising start, was tied down and finished unbeaten on 41 off 23 balls (8x4s) without hitting a single six.
