The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Venkatesh Iyer who had impressed everyone with his fantastic batting in this UAE-leg of IPL 2021, showcased yet another skill he possesses as he picked 2-29 against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday (28 September) at Sharjah.

The former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar in his column for The Times of India, lauded the young left-handed Iyer by calling him the all-rounder India was looking for.

“In Venkatesh Iyer, Kolkata have unearthed a player who can be the all-rounder that India is looking for. His bowing is not express, but he gets the yorker right more than not and doesn’t let the batsman slog him,” Gavaskar wrote.

“As a batsman, he plays upright, which gets into a great position to play the short ball, and he drives beautifully through the off-side like all left-handers seem to do,” he added.

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Iyer picked two big wickets of explosive batter Shimron Hetmyer along with another of all-rounder Akshar Patel as KKR restricted DC to a paltry 127/9 which the two-time champions chased down with 10 balls to spare.

With KKR getting the two crucial points against a very strong DC side, the cricketer-turned-commentator feels the side has a better chance of qualifying as this fantastic win over a top 2 team will boost their morale and prepare them for more challenging battles ahead.

“Kolkata have done their chances of qualifying for the playoffs no harm after an excellent win in their previous match over the then table-toppers Delhi. It was just that the kind of hard-fought win that can boost a team’s morale and prepare it for sterner battles,” the Mumbai-based Sunil Gavaskar concluded.

KKR will now be locking horns with the KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday (1 October) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

(With The Times of India Inputs)