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Venkatesh Iyer's coach reveals his plan ahead of T20 World Cup 2022

Venkatesh Iyer became an overnight trend after his Indian Premier League appearance last time in the 2021 edition. Since then whenever he got an opportunity he tried to showcase his mettle and skill. The recently concluded T20I series against the West Indies was no different. The curious case of Hardik Pandya’s recovery may make the way for the 27-year old in the 2022 T20 World Cup and therefore his coach Anand Ranjan is helping him to improve his bowling skills.

"Our main focus for him is to make him bowl 10 to 12 overs a day, whether he is playing a four-day game for MP or Vijay Hazare. He has to bowl 10 overs with intent. There could be a few technical changes in the action, which will help him bowl a little faster than how he is bowling now, plus accuracy," Rajan, who was with the MRF Pace Academy from 2004 to 2009, told Sportstar.

Raj revealed how they had planned for every West Indian batter. "Depending on the games to come, we plan accordingly. We shortlisted the batsmen to whom he may have to bowl. We try to execute those plans in the practice sessions. A few players are known, and you know what lengths to bowl. We had videos of Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard and Rovman Powell. And since the ODIs happened before the T20Is, we saw the others also."

Venkatesh Iyer got only 37 balls in three innings but ended up claiming two wickets. Now Ranjan’s aim is to make Venky a potent bowling option ahead of the T20 World Cup. The duo tries to spend one hour at least with each other whenever Venkatesh is in town.

The ODI omission, after only two games in South Africa, according to the coach made the Kolkata Knight Rider retained opener disturbed for a while. "He was tense and a bit nervous after the South Africa series. Now we know that one poor performance could change things since so many people are waiting in the pipeline. He has to make every opportunity count. Hopefully, the IPL will be good for him."

The left-handed all-rounder is currently in Lucknow with the Indian team for the curtain-raiser T20I against Sri Lanka, scheduled for 24 February, 2022. 

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PSL 2022 | Shaheen Afridi shines with bat but Peshawar Zalmi steal win in Super Over

The cricket fans were treated with some exciting finish to the league stage of the PSL 2022 as the encounter between Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars went into the Super Over before the Peshawar side eventually won the match. The Qalandars while chasing 159 needed 24 off the final over with skipper Shaheen on strike. The Peshawar captain Wahab Riaz handed the ball to Mohammad Umar for this last over. He bowled a wide first up and Shaheen then followed it with a four and a maximum to the next two deliveries bringing down the equation to 13 required off four. The left-handed batsman didn't stop here as he struck another six to create more pressure on the bowler. The ask had now dropped to 7 needed off three and Umar showed some mettle to bowl two dot deliveries on the trot. With 7 runs required off the final ball, Shaheen Afridi swung his bat with full force and hammered another six in the over deep mid-wicket to tie the game and take it into the Super Over. Wahab Riaz bowled the Super Over for Peshawar and only gave only five runs during the course. Shoaib Malik who came out to bat for Zalmi hit two boundaries on the first two balls of Shaheen's over to wrap up the match for his side. Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi managed to put 158/7 in 20 overs after Shoaib Malik top-scored with 32 of 28 and Khalid Usman chipped in with an unbeaten 19 off 11. Lahore Qalandars in reply, too struggled to put up a fight during the chase and lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 94/6. It was Mohammad Hafeez who held the fort at one end and scored 49 in 44 deliveries and Shaheen Afridi's batting masterclass that helped the side get back in the game and put up a fight. He scored 39 off 20. Wahab returned with figures of 2/19 in 4 overs. "Have been practicing my batting in the nets to ensure that I can contribute to the team with the bat if needed. Will try to improve more if possible. Talking about the match, Peshawar played really well but we weren't good enough on the field," Shaheen said after the match. Lahore will now play Multan Sultans in Qualifier in Lahore on Wednesday while Peshawar will be up against Islamabad United in Eliminator 1 on Thursday at the same venue.