“Had he picked up a wicket, it would have been a masterstroke” - Venkatesh Iyer on Nitish Rana bowling first over

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer defended skipper Nitish Rana after the latter made the surprise decision to bowl the first over against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and conceded 26 runs. According to Iyer, if Rana had claimed a wicket, his move would have been hailed as a masterstroke.

Defending a total of 149, part-time off-spinner Rana decided to open the bowling against RR at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, May 11. The ploy backfired as Yashavi Jaiswal clobbered him for two sixes and three fours to set the tone for Rajasthan’s chase.

Jaiswal built on the great start and went on to hammer an unbeaten 98 off 47 balls as RR chased down the target in 13.1 overs, with nine wickets in hand.

In a post-match press conference, Iyer defended his captain over his decision to bowl the first over and said:

“We all know what Nitish is capable of with the ball in hand. He has picked up crucial wickets in his career. With a left-hander on the crease, I don’t think an offie is a wrong option. Unfortunately, it didn’t go in our favor. Had he picked up a wicket, it would have been a masterstroke. Anyway, these things happen on the field.”

Asked to elaborate on the thinking behind the decision, Iyer explained that the wicket was on the slower side and they felt the new ball could offer some turn. The 28-year-old stated:

“The wicket was a little bit on the slower side. We wanted to exploit the spin with the newer ball. If the new ball starts turning, then it becomes very difficult for the batter. It didn’t and we are talking post-game [because] it did not work out.

“I think Nitish is an unbelievable bowler. He has picked wickets with economical bowling. One bad game won’t make him a bad bowler.”

None of KKR’s bowlers picked up a wicket in the match against RR. Jos Buttler, the only Rajasthan batter to be dismissed, was run-out for a duck by a direct hit from Andre Russell.

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“I would take responsibility of playing a lot of dot balls” - Venkatesh Iyer

Earlier in the game, Iyer top-scored for KKR with 57. However, he took 42 balls to score the runs, hitting two fours and four sixes. The southpaw took responsibility for not scoring at a quicker pacer.

Reflecting on his innings, he commented:

“That pitch was not very easy to bat. We slowed down just a little bit. I would take responsibility of playing a lot of dot balls there. I should have rotated more and I think that little phase was owned by Rajasthan. I think we made a good comeback in the game, but at the end of the day it did not matter.”

While Iyer scored a half-century, Rana’s 22 was the next-best score in KKR’s innings as they were held to a disappointing 149/8.