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Venkatesh Iyer: Who is this new KKR sensation?

Indian Premier League is such a platform that created a pathway for unfamiliar cricketers to become overnight sensations.

Sep 21, 2021, 6:29 AM2 min read

Indian Premier League is such a platform that created a pathway for unfamiliar cricketers to become overnight sensations. Venkatesh Iyer is one such player among hundreds whose IPL career started in the most dreamy way possible.

Venkatesh Iyer: Who is this new KKR sensation? | SportzPoint.com
Image Credit- ESPNcricinfo

Read also: RCB vs KKR Match report: Dominant Knights crushes RCB

Venkatesh Iyer made is Kolkata Knight Riders' latest debut and what a remarkable performance he showed last night against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 26-year-old came to pay on the ground as opener with Subhman Gill on the first match of KKR in the 2nd phase of IPL 2021 hosted in Dubai. both o ade sure to finish scoring the target as soon as possible. Ventakesh took only 27 balls to score 41* runs including 7 boundaries. KKR showed an impressive performance last night and the entire team's contribution took them from 7th to 5th position at the IPL 2021 points table. Finishing the match with a target of just 93 runs in 10 overs absolutely spiced up the points table.

Who is Venkatesh Iyer?

Venkatesh was an unknown person before yesterday for a lot of people, but with his banging debut, he definitely isn't anymore. In 2018, he made his First-class debut against Hyderabad. He played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Madhya Pradesh where topped the run-charts with 227 runs in 5 innings with an average of 75.66 and a strike rate of 149.34. Once again, he left a mark in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he aggregated 198 146 in balls. Ater such magnificent performances, he received his call in the IPL from KKR. Sadly, he did not get the opportunity to play in the first half of the season but thrashed the opponents once he got to play.

The batsman is only skillful as a cricketer but also is also amazing in academics as well. He topped the intermediate (senior-secondary) examinations and his plans was sure enroll for a B.com degree. Also, he was preparing for his CA Finals simultaneously. In the end, he chose his love for cricket over CA finals. Also, he rejected a job oppurtunity from Deloitte as he was not ready to shift to Bangalore for that job. Also, he completed his MBA, and kept it as a Plan B if he could not excel in his cricketing career.

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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024: Madhya Pradesh beat Delhi to face Mumbai in the final

Captain Rajat Patidar's outstanding knock of 66 off 29 helped Madhya Pradesh beat Delhi in the second semi-final of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. MP will face Mumbai in the final on Sunday.

Dec 13, 2024, 5:57 PM3 min read

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024: Madhya Pradesh beat Delhi to face Mumbai in the final -sportzpoint.com

Captain Rajat Patidar led Madhya Pradesh to the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final with an impressive 29-ball innings of 66 runs while chasing the target set by Delhi, who were defeated by 7 wickets. Madhya Pradesh has reached the SMAT final after 13 years as they will face 2023 champions Mumbai in the 2024 final in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on 15 December 2024. 

Impressive performance by MP bowlers in the first innings

Following the toss win, MP captain Patidar opted to field in and sent Delhi to bat for the first innings today in Bengaluru. Priyansh Arya and Yash Dhull opened for Delhi and gave the batting side a solid start, as they scored 38 runs in the first 5 overs of powerplay. However, in the 6th over, Yash Dhull got dismissed on 11 off 18 balls; and Priyansh went back to the pavilion in the 9th over with 29 runs by his name off 21 balls. 

After the openers departed, Madhya Pradesh bowlers took over the driver's seat and put up a show. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer stormed in to take two wickets in three balls in the 12th over as he sent Delhi captain Ayush Badoni and Himmat Singh back to the dugout. However, Anuj Rawat's scorching knock of 33 off 24 and Mayank Rawat's 21-ball innings of 24 runs pushed Delhi to a decent score of 146/5 in 20 overs.

Rajat Patidar played a captain's knock 

Captain Rajat Patidar's storming innings is the definite highlight of Madhya Pradesh's chase; as he scored 66 runs off just 29 balls, studded with 4 boundaries and 6 over-boundaries. 

However, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma startled MP's innings in the first over as he dismissed opener Arpit Gaud on the very first ball. Ishant sent Subhranshu Senapati back to the pavilion in the third over, leaving a trembling Madhya Pradesh with a scoreline of 22/2 in 3 overs. 

Harsh Gawali's decent innings of 30 off 18 balls challenged Delhi bowlers and stabilized MP's innings. Following his departure, Patidar pulled off a stunning 66-run innings of just 29 balls to lead MP to the target in just 15.4 overs. Harpreet Singh Bhatia completed the chase with a six, delivering an impressive knock of 46 off 38 balls to power MP to the coveted win. 

Read Also | Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024: Mumbai vs Baroda match report

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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 Semi-final fixtures: Baroda to face Mumbai, Delhi against MP

Hardik Pandya's Baroda will face Ajinkya Rahane's Mumbai while Ayush Badoni's Delhi will go against Rajat Patidar's Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 semi-finals.

Dec 12, 2024, 6:06 AM4 min read

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 Semi-final fixtures: Baroda to face Mumbai, Delhi against MP | Sportz Point
Image | PTI

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 semi-finals, Hardik Pandya's Baroda will face Ajinkya Rahane's Mumbai while Ayush Badoni's Delhi will go against Rajat Patidar's Madhya Pradesh to clinch the Premier T20 title of the Indian Domestic circuit. 

Hardik and Meriwala powered Baroda to the semi-final in the 1st QF

In the first quarter-final, Hardik and Krunal Pandya's Baroda defeated Mohammed Shami and Shahbaz Ahmed's Bengal by 41 runs to enter the semis. Baroda scored 172/7 in the first inning, all thanks to Shashwat Rawat's 40 from 26 balls in the opening and a late flourish from Shivalik Sharma (24 from 17) and Vishnu Solanki (16 from 7). Hardik could only score 10 from 11 balls.

Mohammed Shami took wickets but went for 43 in his full quota of 4 overs. 

In reply, Bengal were hit by early wickets as Lukman Meriwala struck early for Baroda. Except for Shahbaz Ahmed's 55 from 36 balls and 29 off 18 balls from Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, none contributed that much with the bat for Bengal and they fell short of the target by 41 runs. Hardik Pandya (3/27) and Lukman Meriwala (3/17) were the stars of the show for Baroda.

Read Also | Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Baroda and MP book place into the semis

Anuj Rawat's impressive 73 helped Delhi win against UP

SMAT 2024: Anuj Rawat's impressive 73 helped Delhi win against UP | Sportz Point
Anuj Rawat played a stunning 33-ball 73 to help Delhi win. Image | PTI

In the second quarter-final, Delhi faced a formidable Uttar Pradesh, led by Bhuvnewshwar Kumar. Delhi scored 193/3 in the first inning and UP were bundled out for 174 in the second inning. Delhi's keeper-batter Anuj Rawat played an unbeaten inning of 73 from 33 balls, which included 7 fours and 5 huge sixes. Bhuvneshwar Kumar went wicketless and went for 34 in his four overs.

UP could not get going in the second inning as Ishant Sharma and Suyash Sharma provided early breakthroughs. Ishant Sharma returned with a bowling figure of 11/1 in his three overs, while Suyash Sharma took 2/36. Prince Yadav was expensive with the ball but took three wickets. 

For UP, Priyam Garg scored 54 from 34 balls while Nitish Rana could not score 2 from 3 balls and was dismissed by Delhi captain Ayush Badoni.

Venkatesh Iyer's all-round skill helped MP reach the semi-final after 14 years

Venkatesh Iyer and Rajat Patidar's Madhya Pradesh qualified for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semi-finals after a gap of 14 years as they chased down Suarasthra's 174-run target with four balls to go. 

Chirag Jani's outstanding unbeaten 80 from 45 balls helped Saurashtra reach 173/7 in the first inning. Venkatesh Iyer took 23/2 in his three overs while Avesh Khan went for 51/2 in his full quota of four overs.  

In reply, Arpit Gaud gave the perfect start to MP's inning with a 42 from 29 balls while Subhrangsu Senapati (24), and Rajat Patidar (28 from 18) chipped in. But it was the steady inning from Venkatesh Iyer (unbeaten 38 from 33) and pinch-hitting by Harpreet Singh Bhatia (unbeaten 22 from 9 balls) that helped them go over the line with 6 wickets in hands.

Rahane and Shaw's heroic helped Mumbai chase Vidarbha's 222 run-target

In the fourth quarter-final, Mumbai chased down Vidarbha's 222-run target to reach the semi-finals. Atharva Taide's 66 from 41 balls, Wankheded's 51 from 33 and Shubham Dubey's 43 from 19 balls helped Vidarbha 221/6 in the first inning. Shardul Thakur was wicket-less and went for 41 in his 3 overs.

Prithvi Shaw (49 from 26), and Ajinkya Rahane (84 from 45) provided an 83-run opening partnership that laid the foundation for Shivam Dube (37 from 22) and Suryansh Shedge (36 from 12) to finish things off for them. Eventually, they chased down the target with four balls to go with six wickets in hands.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 Semi-final fixtures

 Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2024

1st Semi-Final:

  • Teams: Baroda vs Mumbai
  • Venue: Bengaluru
  • Time: 11:00 AM IST 

2nd Semi-Final (D/N):

  • Teams: Madhya Pradesh vs Delhi
  • Venue: Bengaluru
  • Time: 4:30 PM IST 

Where to watch the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 Semi-finals?

Fans can watch the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 Semi-finals live on Jio Cinema App and Website for free. Matches will be telecasted on Sports18 Channels as well. 

 

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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Baroda and MP book place into the semis

In the first semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25, MP defeated Saurashtra by 7 wickets, while in the second quarter-final match, Baroda, captained by Krunal Pandya, defeated Bengal by 41 runs.

Dec 11, 2024, 12:10 PM2 min read

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Baroda and MP book place into the semis - Sportzpoint.com

The teams of Baroda and Madhya Pradesh have reached the semi-finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 on Wednesday.

In the first semi-final, MP defeated Saurashtra by 7 wickets, while in the second quarter-final match, Baroda, captained by Krunal Pandya, defeated Bengal by 41 runs.

Also Read: Fastest Hundreds in T20s

Venkatesh Iyer was given the Player of The Match

All four quarter-final matches were held in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Wednesday. In the first match, MP defeated Saurashtra by 7 wickets.

Batting first, Saurashtra scored 173 runs. In reply, MP won the match by losing 3 wickets with 4 balls remaining. For Madhya Pradesh, Venkatesh Iyer took 2 wickets and also scored 38 runs. Player of the Match Venkatesh ended on 38 not out off 33 deliveries with the bat, after taking 2 for 23 from three overs with the ball. Harpreet, on the other end, batted more aggressively in his nine-ball cameo to finish on 22 not out to seal the game for MP.

Bengal faced Baroda in the second QF 

Bengal faced Baroda in the second QF match. Batting first, Baroda scored 172 runs for 7 wickets. From it's side, Shashwat Rawat scored the maximum 40 runs. Captain Krunal Pandya (7) and Hardik Pandya (10) could not do anything special in batting.

While chasing the target of 173 runs set by Baroda, Bengal collapsed for 131 runs in 18 overs. Mohammed Shami took 2 wickets for 43 runs in a spell of 4 overs for his team. Kanishk Seth and Pradipta Pramanik also got two wickets each.

Also Read: Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Shreyas Gopal gets hat-trick against Baroda; enters list of elites with most T20 hat-tricks

Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets

From Bengals' side, Shahbaz Ahmed scored the maximum 55 runs. Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (29) and Abhishek Porel (22) also played good innings, but the rest of the batsmen could not even touch the 10-run mark. 

As a result, the entire team was limited to 18 overs. Hardik Pandya, Lukman Meriwala and Atit Sheth took 3 wickets each.

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IPL 2025 Auction: Top 10 Most Expensive players of the auction

From Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer, here are the top 10 expensive players of the IPL 2025 auction. Rishabh Pant was the most expensive player ever in an auction.

Nov 25, 2024, 10:05 PM3 min read

IPL 2025 Auction: Top 10 Most Expensive players of the auction

After two days of exciting show auction in Jeddah, the ten Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises were able to pick their squad for the IPL 2025. Rishabh Pant came out as the most expensive player in IPL auction's history with a humongous INR 27 cr bid from Lucknow Super Giants while Shreyas Iyer was the first player ever to get a 25 cr plus deal in an IPL auction.

LSG bidding for Rishabh Pant during the IPL 2025 auction - sportzpoint.com
LSG bidding for Rishabh Pant during the IPL 2025 auction. Image | BCCI

Shreyas Iyer, the IPL 2024 winning captain received a 26.75 cr bid from Punjab Kings, who had released most of their players during the retention and wanted a captain in their squad. Along with him, Punjab Kings with the highest money in the purse before the auction, were responsible for three of the top 10 most expensive bids. They first brought back their fast bowler Arshdeep Singh for INR 18 cr and after Shreyas Iyer's bid, they made Yuzvendra Chahal the most expensive spinner in IPL history.

Chahal, who everyone thought could go back to RCB, was eventually bought by Punjab Kings for a whooping INR 18 cr, which was the fourth-highest bid of the auction. Meantime, the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders surprised everyone after buying back Venkatesh Iyer for INR 23 cr. They nearly fought a bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore to bring him back to Eden Gardens.

Jos Buttler was another marquee player, who was supposed to be big in the auction and he was Gujarat Titan's highest bid of the season at INR 15.75 cr. KL Rahul, went to Delhi Capitals for INR 14 cr, which everyone thought was another case of RCB not going all-out for a player. 

Trent Boult reunited with Jasprit Bumrah at Mumbai Indians, after the five-time champions decided to spend most of their money on retaining their core group of players. The Kiwi pacer was sold for INR 12.5 cr. Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood also attracted the same amount of money from RCB, who were looking for a good fast bowler, after they let Mohammed Siraj go in the retention and auction as well. 

Top 10 most expensive players in IPL 2025 auction

Sr. No. Team Player Base Price Winning Bid
1 LSG Rishabh Pant ₹2,00,00,000 ₹27,00,00,000
2 PBKS Shreyas Iyer ₹2,00,00,000 ₹26,75,00,000
3 KKR Venkatesh Iyer ₹2,00,00,000 ₹23,75,00,000
4 PBKS Arshdeep Singh ₹2,00,00,000 ₹18,00,00,000
5 PBKS Yuzvendra Chahal ₹2,00,00,000 ₹18,00,00,000
6 GT Jos Buttler ₹2,00,00,000 ₹15,75,00,000
7 DC KL Rahul ₹2,00,00,000 ₹14,00,00,000
8 MI Trent Boult  ₹2,00,00,000 ₹12,50,00,000
9 RR Jofra Archer  ₹2,00,00,000 ₹12,50,00,000
10 RCB Josh Hazlewood  ₹2,00,00,000 ₹12,50,00,000
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Venkatesh Iyer picks up 2 Wickets In 2 balls to guide Lancashire to a thrilling win vs Worcestershire

Lancashire registered a dramatic three-run victory over Worcestershire in the One-Day Cup 2024 match on Wednesday following Iyer's sensational spell.

Aug 15, 2024, 2:19 PM2 min read

Venkatesh Iyer picked two wickets in two balls to help his side win the game against Worcestershire

Lancashire registered a dramatic three-run victory over Worcestershire in their One-Day Cup 2024 match at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Lancashire scored 237 with skipper Josh Bohannon top-scoring with 87 runs. Worcestershire were very close to victory but Lancashire bowled them out for 234 and claimed a win by three runs. Venkatesh Iyer turned out to be the main man with his back-to-back wickets.

Read Also: Most matches played as captain

Bowling the 49th over, Iyer had to defend 16 runs off 12 balls as Worcestershire were 222/8 at the end of the 48th over. It was not a good start from him as he leaked 12 runs off the first four deliveries. With only four runs left to win from eight balls, the Indian all-rounder scalped the remaining two wickets in his last two deliveries. He dismissed Tom Hinley for 24, and Harry Darley for a duck. 

In the first inning, George Balderson scored 50 runs for Lancashire and helped them post a defendable total. Tom Hinley stole the show with three wickets while Tom Taylor and Harry Darley scalped two wickets each. Later in the chase, Worcestershire skipper Jake Libby scored 83 runs while Taylor scored 41. For Lancashire, Charlie Barnard scalped three wickets while Joshua Boyden and Iyer scalped two wickets each. 

Despite the loss, Worcestershire have qualified for the quarterfinals. 

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