New Delhi, April 3 -- Venkatesh Iyer put his Rs.23.75 crore price tag behind to shut the critics with a 206.89 strike-rate knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday. Having failed in his first two innings in IPL 2025, pressure was mounting on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder.

Coming onto bat after the fall captain Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer started slow initially, scoring 11 in his first 10 balls. It was the 16th over from Mohammed Shami that the KKR vice-captain broke free.

He was particularly brutal against SRH skipper Pat Cummins in the 19th over with two fours and two sixes as KKR took 21 runs from that over. The left-hander started the final over off ...