Shreyas Iyer | file photo
Shreyas Iyer clarified the comment he made after the last game vs Mumbai Indians regarding KKR CEO’s involvement in team selection.
During the post-match presentations, Iyer took the initiative to clarify his statement.
When I named the CEO in the last match, all I wanted to say was to console the players who are sitting outside. It’s hard for us too when we pick a team
Significantly, his remarks in the last game had spread like wildfire and KKR CEO Venky Mysore drew a lot of criticism on social media. Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja further said in a conversation with Cricbuzz, “Now we know that there is no talk of the captain.”
As far as the match is concerned, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 54 runs to stay mathematically alive in this match on Saturday.
Opting to bat, KKR played down Andre Russell’s unbeaten 49 off 28 balls and smashed 177 for six.
In reply, SRH could manage to score 123 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs, with opener Abhishek Sharma scoring 43 runs in 28 balls and Aiden Markram Scored 32 runs in 25 balls.
Earlier, Russell and Sam Billings (34) put on a 63-run stand to take KKR past 150 after KKR posted 94 for five in the 12th over.
KKR scored 58 runs in the last five overs due to Russell’s strength. Ajinkya Rahane (28) and Nitish Rana (26) also started but could not carry on with their innings.
For SRH, Umran Malik (3/33) was back in form with three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/27), Marco Jensen (1/30) and T Natarajan (1/43) also took a wicket each.
Russell also hit a four with the ball, taking three wickets for 22 runs, while the rest of the bowlers – Umesh Yadav (1/19), Tim Southee (2/23), Sunil Narine (1/34) and Varun Chakraborty (1/25) were also among the wickets.
(Inputs from PTI)