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

Kohli's decision to step down didn't play a role in heavy defeat against KKR: Mike Hesson

Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mike Hesson refused to accept that RCB’s below-par performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders was down to the decision taken by Virat Kohli just before the start of the tournament. Kohli announced that he will be stepping down from the captain’s role but will continue to play for RCB till the last day of his IPL career. Royal Challengers Bangalore got a reality check as they were annihilated by KKR by 9 wickets. After batting first, RCB managed to post just 92 runs with Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell bagging three apiece. Hesson stated that everyone was aware of Kohli’s decision beforehand and that had no role to play in their defeat. He added that the batting performance was nowhere close to where they would have wanted but is confident if making a turnaround in the remaining matches. "I think it was actually to get any form of distraction out early. We talked about making that announcement as soon as possible really, all the players were aware of it. It has not impacted performance against KKR, we were not sharp with the bat, we lost wickets. But I am confident that this group will turn around pretty quickly," Hesson was quoted as saying during a virtual post-match press conference. "The team combination was not the problem today. To be fair, we probably got the toss wrong. It was not a 93-run wicket, we should have been able to get to 150. Whether that would have been enough or not, it is debatable because the ball started to slide down, but we were not sharp enough with the bat," Hesson further added. RCB were skittled out for 92 in 19 overs after winning the toss and batting first. None of the batsmen could get going and despite a good stand between Devdutt Padikkal and KS Bharath, none of the other batters could get going. It was the 6th lowest total for RCB in IPL history. Meanwhile, Hesson said that it was hard for Rajat Patidar to get dropped. However, he added that given KS Bharat’s exceptional showing in the nets, he deserved to break into the XI. De Villiers scored a duck as he was dismissed by a searing yorker from Andre Russell. Hesson said that it is very important to look after him given the importance of Mr 360 for the franchise. "AB de Villiers did not have the gloves, we have to look after him. He is an important player for us, he is not one we can risk behind the stumps so that was unfortunate for Rajat as we needed a keeper-bat to do the role for us at number three. To be fair, KS Bharat has been outstanding in the camp and he deserves his inclusion," Hesson said. "We were pretty clear in terms of Virat batting at the top, it is a lot harder to start against spin. We are very happy with Devdutt Padikkal and Virat opening the batting for us, high-quality players, left-right combination and KS Bharat can bat anywhere. We were forced for that change with AB de Villiers not keeping," Hesson concluded.

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.