IPL 2021: "I love the way they are playing innocent and selfless cricket" - Sanjay Majrekar on KKR's Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has heaped praise on Kolkata Knight Riders top-order batsmen Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi for their fearless approach to batting.

The two batsmen received plaudits ahead of their match-winning partnership in their previous encounter against the Mumbai Indians. Iyer's knock of 53 runs and Tripathi's unbeaten 74 runs aided their side in chasing down the target of 155 runs quite easily.

Manjrekar labeled their style of batting as innocent and selfless. He posted a video previewing today's clash between CSK and KKR on his official Instagram account. The video clip was captioned:

"Chennai vs Kolkata Preview. Presented by @DafanewsIndia. Check out Dafa News here: https://t.me/dafanews888. Kolkata is looking good heading into the game against Chennai, with Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson firing for them. #dafanewsindia"

You can find the video below:

Manjrekar commended Iyer's display for giving blistering starts to his side. Impressed by KKR's Indian batting contingent, he said:

"Really all the success that you see in Kolkata is on the back of Venkatesh Iyer, whose have given them flyers, setting the mood for the rest of the batting. So this is the guy that Kolkata bought for ₹20L base price.There is also a Rahul Tripathi who was bought for ₹60L. Two guys with low price tags making a huge impression. And I just love the way they are playing innocent and selfless cricket. They are not going and looking for their own interest. They are just going out there and giving their best, that's great to see."

The Kolkata franchise did a meritorious piece of business by picking these great batting talents for relatively lesser fees. Having plied his trade for Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals in the past, Rahul Tripathi was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2020 IPL Auction for ₹60Lacs.

Meanwhile, KKR's newest batting sensation Venkatesh Iyer was bought by the side for mere ₹20Lacs in the 2021 IPL Auction after a brilliant showing for his state Madhya Pradesh in the last domestic season.

Manjrekar feels that KKR's bowling unit is their main long-term asset

Apart from the fearless approach by KKR's batters, the performance from the bowling unit as a whole has been a great inspiration for the side. In their first two matches of the UAE leg of the IPL 2021, Knight Riders bowlers bowled out RCB for just 92 runs and restricted Mumbai Indians to just 155 runs in their 20 overs.

While praising each bowler in the KKR lineup, the 56-year old said:

"The real strength and long-term asset that Kolkata have is their bowling. Lockie Ferguson can bowl at 147kmph, can bowl straight yorkers and is looking really good. Andre Russell's fitness has been the best news for KKR and he's bowled all the difficult overs. Varun Chakravarthy has always been a wicket-taker for Kolkata and Sunil Narine despite his bowling action changes still making an impression. Prasidh Krishna is always there looking really good."

Kolkata Knight Riders will now lock horns against Chennai Super Kings in Match 38 of IPL 2021. The match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and both sides have started their second half of the event in the best possible way, winning both their previous matches.

After sneaking into the top four, KKR will look to earn another crucial two points whereas CSK will look to solidify their place in the top two.