Iyer silences critics with blazing 60 as Kolkata Knight Riders crush Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs

• KOLKATA — Venkatesh Iyer answered his critics with a match-winning 60 off 29 balls, propelling Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing 80-run win in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
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• Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s classy 50 (32b, 5x4, 2x6) in an 81-run stand with skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27) laid the foundation, while Iyer and Rinku Singh (32 not out off 17b) provided the late fireworks with a blistering 91-run partnership (41b) to lift KKR to 200/6 -- their highest total of the season.
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• Seamer Vaibhav Arora set the tone by removing the dangerous Travis Head (4) and Ishan Kishan (2) in successive overs to return with impressive figures of 4-1-29-3.
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• Harshit Rana dismissed Abhishek Sharma (2), leaving SRH reeling at 9/3 in 2.1 overs, while Andre Russell and Sunil Narine also chipped in with a wicket each to make it 66/5 inside 10 overs.

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• Varun Chakravarthy then cleaned up the lower order taking two wickets in two balls en route to his 4-0-22-3 as SRH crumbled to 120 all out -- their explosive batting lineup lasting just 16.4 overs.
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• The defending champions thus returned to winning ways after losing two of their first three matches and will next face Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
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• Meanwhile, SRH, enduring their third straight defeat, head home to take on Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
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• After being reduced to 9/3 in 2.1 overs, Nitish Reddy (19) counterattacked Arora with two fours and a six, while Kamindu Mendis (27 off 20 balls) lifted hopes by taking on Andre Russell with a pick-up shot over deep square leg.
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• But Russell struck back to remove Reddy before Sunil Narine (1/30) accounted for Mendis in the 10th over, reducing SRH to 66/5 at the halfway mark and effectively ending their chase.
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• Earlier, KKR’s new-look opening pair continued to struggle, with Quinton de Kock (1) and Narine (7) once again falling cheaply after Pat Cummins opted to bowl first.
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• Rahane and Raghuvanshi steadied the innings, countering early movement with intelligent shot selection.
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• Rahane’s back-to-back pull-shot sixes off Shami and Cummins broke the shackles, as KKR reached 53/2 after the powerplay.
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• Raghuvanshi showcased his stroke-making prowess with exquisite drives and a stunning reverse hit past backward point, reaching his fifty in 30 balls.
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• Zeeshan Ansari (1/25) eventually ended the partnership, dismissing Rahane in the same over Raghuvanshi was dropped on 43.
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• However, the youngster didn’t last long, falling to a stunning forward-diving catch off IPl debutant Kamindu Mendis.
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• Mendis, making his IPL debut, bowled left-arm spin to right-hander Raghuvanshi before switching to off-spin against the left-handed Rinku Singh in the same over, a rare sight in the competition.
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• Boundaries dried up for 16 balls before Iyer, KKR’s costliest player this season (INR 23.75 crore), broke the shackles with a desperate pull off a Simarjeet Singh beamer.
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• Rinku followed with three successive boundaries off Harshal Patel before Iyer tore into Simarjeet, hammering him for consecutive fours.
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• Rinku finished the over with a towering six over long-on, yielding 17 runs, while Iyer went berserk against Cummins in the 19th over, smashing him for 4, 6, 4, 4 in succession as KKR amassed 78 runs in the last five overs.
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• Cummins’ reluctance to use spin despite variable bounce raised eyebrows. Mendis (1/4) wasn’t given another over after his crucial breakthrough, while Ansari bowled just three overs (1/25).
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• Instead, Cummins trusted his pace attack, which failed to contain Iyer and Rinku in the death overs.