Twitter Reactions Indian Premier League 2024

'Pichli baar kya bola tha, Aukaat?' - Fans react as Venkatesh Iyer breaks KKR's 15-year century drought in IPL 2023 against MI

Venkatesh Iyer brought up his maiden IPL century and this is KKR's first hundred since Brendon McCullum in the first IPL game in 2008.

author-image
Rohit Kumar
New Update
Venkatesh Iyer (Source - Twitter)

Venkatesh Iyer (Source - Twitter)

Mumbai Indians (MI) locked horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 22nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Sunday, April 16 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. KKR headed into this game after a loss at home against SRH, but it was a defeat where they kept fighting till the end.Β 

Meanwhile, coming back to the match, KKR batter Venkatesh Iyer broke the 15 years century drought for the two-time champions. Interestingly, Iyer got injured in the powerplay as he got hit on his knee by the ball and he looked in a lot of pain. Everyone thought that he would leave the field but surprisingly he decided to keep batting.

And what came next was history as smashed his maiden century in the cash-rich league and also became the orange cap holder. Iyer scored 104 runs off just 51 deliveries which included 6 fours and 9 sixes at a breathtaking strike rate of 203.92 and single-handedly brought KKR into a strong position.

Abhishek Nayar has been working with me: Venkatesh Iyer

MI are playing without their regular captain Rohit Sharma as he kept himself out of the playing XI because of a stomach bug. Suryakumar Yadav led the side in his absence and after winning the toss, he decided to bowl first. And once KKR openers disappointed as N Jagadeesan got out on a duck and Rahmanullah Gurbaz continued his struggle and got out after scoring only 8 runs off 12 balls.

But later, it was all about Iyer as he was only dealing with boundaries. KKR skipper Nitish Rana couldn't provide much into the scoreboard. In the end, it was Andre Russel who hit some boundaries to help KKR achieve a fighting total of 185 runs. After the conclusion of the first innings, Iyer talked about his innings and was also given the orange cap.

"Feels great, coming to Mumbai and playing a game is always special. Getting a hundred is even more special. I just go out there and do what has been told to me. Abhishek Nayar has been working with me, improving me not only as a player, but also personality-wise."

Here's how fans reacted:

Indian Premier League Mumbai Indians IPL 2023 Kolkata Knight Riders