IPL 2021 | KKR vs RCB: Venkatesh Iyer gets batting tips from Virat Kohli

Tamim Iqbal granted NOC to participate in Everest Premier League

Star Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has been granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to take part in the Everest Premier League. The leading run-getter for Bangaladesh across formats, this will mark the return of Tamim Iqbal to competitive crIcket following an injury layoff for two months. The injury forced Tamim had to miss three consecutive T20I series against Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand. It must also be noted that he was withdrawn his name from the T20 World Cup squad as he felt it will be unjust to take someone’s place for a mega-event despite not being present in the last couple of months. Tamim started his preparation for the tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on September 19. Earlier the left-handed batsman had planned to play the EPL as a part of the preparation for the T20 World Cup but later withdrew his name. Tamim had initially planned to play in the EPL as part of his preparation for the T20 World Cup but later decided not to be part of the global event. Meanwhile, BCB Cricket Operation chairman told Cricbuzz about Tamim being granted the NOC. He spent around 50 minutes batting in the nets besides undergoing a few fielding drills. Tamim Iqbal who had closely worked with BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury is expected to be back to full fitness before the tournament starts as per Chowdhury’s words to Cricbuzz. The Everest Premier League will be held in Nepal from 25th September to October 9. "Tamim is not having any problem when he is batting but we have to see how he feels while running and fielding. But the way he is improving, we are hopeful that he will be able to make it in EPL," said Debashish. Tamim Iqbal sustained the injury to his right knee during a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in April-May. He took part in the home ODI series against the same oppositions before starting the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division T20 League as well. However, he had to quit midway through the tournament after the injury got aggravated. Tamim will be plying his trade for the Bhairahawa Gladiators in the EPL and is expected to leave for Nepal on 24th September for the tournament.

The way Venkatesh Iyer played was outstanding - KKR skipper showers praise on youngster

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan was in all praise for Venkatesh Iyer who made his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore and impressed Morgan with his unbeaten knock of 41 of 27 deliveries to see his side through to the paltry victory target of 93 runs. Venkatesh Iyer looked in complete command of proceedings and never looked like playing his first game. His strokeplay was of the highest order and the opening partnership with Shubman Gill laid the foundation for the easy run chase. The Madhya Pradesh opener struck 7 fours and a six during his undefeated knock. "Venkatesh Iyer, the way he came in and played was outstanding. Certainly, the brand of cricket we want to play. Playing under head coach Brendon McCullum, this is the aggressive nature of cricket we want to play," Morgan was quoted as saying during a virtual post-match press conference. "Although he was aggressive, he managed to control his innings. His opening partnership with Shubman Gill was beautiful to watch," he added. It was an exceptional bowling performance from KKR to restrict a star-studded RCB batting line-up to a paltry 92 runs. Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell bagged three wickets apiece to dismantle the RCB batting. Despite the pitch assisting pacers, Chakravarthy produced some magic deliveries to get three crucial wickets. Meanwhile, Russell bagged the huge wicket of AB de Villiers for a golden duck. Morgan accepted that the match-ups with Rusell worked perfectly. "Yeah, I think the match-ups with Andre Russell really worked. The pitch the way it played throughout the whole innings was more seamer-friendly even though Varun had an unbelievable day. I thought the pitch assisted the seamers with big size boundaries," Morgan said. Kolkata Knight Riders are currently occupying the 5th spot in the points table with 3 wins from 8 games. They have to win atleast 4 to 5 of their remaining six games to harbour hopes of going through to the playoffs. "Yeah, there is no doubt that it will be a challenge from here onwards, but our main aim is to turn up and play cricket as we did with RCB. If we do that, then we give ourselves the best chance of progressing to the playoffs," he added. Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns against the defending champions Mumbai Indians next on September 23 (Thursday).

We have a long way to go: Eoin Morgan hails team for perfect start against RCB

After a below-par performance in the first half of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back strongly in the second half of the season thrashing Royal Challengers Bangalore by 9 wickets in a thoroughly convincing display of all-round performance. Following their impressive showing, captain Eoin Morgan lauded the team for a perfect start despite accepting the fact that they haven’t quite shown up for the major part of the tournament. "We're not going to knock people for playing their shots. We have a long way to go, need a lot of things to go right. Today's the right start, need that run of confidence. We haven't turned up for the majority of the tournament, but today was a great start," Morgan said at the post-match presentation. "Very rarely do you perform as well as we have today. The talent we have within our squad, it counts for nothing, you have to still go out and show how strong you are and we did today." the stylish left-hander added. Despite the fall of Virat Kohli’s wicket early, it was the duo of Devdutt Padikkal and KS Bharat who scored freely and shared a partnership of 31 runs before the slide began. RCB kept losing wickets at regular intervals which never really allowed them to accelerate the scoring rate. Eventually, they could only manage 92 in their allotted 20 overs. "RCB started well, but taking a wicket at the backend of the powerplay changed things for us. Collectively, we took valuable wickets. Maxwell, AB, Virat - we managed to get on top of all of them, it's very rare as well," Morgan said.

Varun Chakravarthy will be a key factor in the World Cup says Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli heaped praises on mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy after his exceptional spell of spin bowling helped Kolkata Knight Riders restart their IPL campaign in a dramatic manner. The Virat Kohli led RCB was skittled out of a paltry 92 runs after batting first with Chakravarthy finishing with figures of 3/13 in his allotted 4 overs. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said that Chakravarthy will be a vital cog for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Before the abrupt suspension of the league back in May, Chakravarthy was at his best and continued the good work for his franchise. "Pretty good from Varun. He's going to be a key factor when he plays for India. It's great guys who've got the opportunity to play at the international level. He's someone who is going to play in the near future for India, it's a great sign," Kohli said of Chakravarthy. It was Kohli who won the toss and opted to bat. It was a disastrous start for RCB as they lost their skipper very early. After a few crisp shots from Devdutt Padikkal, he had to bite the dust as well. The KKR bowlers were all over the RCB middle-order batsmen, especially in the middle overs. AB de Villiers was castled for a golden by a sensational yorker from Andre Russell. Kohli said that it was a bit of a wake-up call for the team who is still at the 3rd position in the points table with 5 wins from 8 outings. "Was important to get a good partnership. We didn't expect that much dew to kick in that early. From 42 for 1, we lost 5 wickets for 20-odd. Bit of a wake-up call. Might as well have this at the start of the second leg so that we know what we should work on," Kohli said. "We have five wins from eight, we expect a loss here and there, it's part and parcel, need to be professional, stick to our strengths and execute our plans. We have absolute confidence in our squad to pull up next game onwards and put in strong performances," Kohli further added.