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Vijay Hazare Trophy: KKR new recruit Venkatesh Iyer misses double hundred by 2 runs on day of power-hitting

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 3/1/2021 11:50:15 AM

New Delhi, Feb 28 On a day of remarkable power-hitting in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over domestic tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders' new-recruit Venkatesh Iyer made the most of solid batting conditions at the Holkar Stadium for Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, who won the toss and opted to bat against Punjab in their Group B match, got off to a fine start with Venkatesh Iyer and Abhishek Bhandari taking the attack to a high-quality Punjab attack. Iyer was in some big-hitting mood as he continued to put the pressure on Punjab bowlers even after the departure of Bhandari. Iyer stitched a 144- run stand for the 2nd wicket with Rajat Patidar (54) and Aditya Shrivastava (88) before he was run out for 198. Iyer hit as many as 7 sixes and 20 boundaries as he took the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Barinder Sran, Mayank Markande and Gurkeerat Mann to the cleaners. The left-hander needed just 146 balls for his 198 before Kaul ran him out. This is Iyer's highest List A score as he went past his previous best of 109 not out. Iyer's blitzkrieg helped Madhya Pradesh 402 for 3 against Punjab on Sunday. Iyer, who was in good form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well, was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of Rs 20 lakh at the IPL auction. Iyer has played 10 first-class matches and 24 matches and averages in the high 30s in both the formats. In 38 T20s, Iyer has hit 724 runs at an average of 36.20 and strike rate of 137. Devdutt Padikkal hits 3rd successive hundred Meanwhile, Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal hit his 3rd successive hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Padikkal's 125-ball 145 and captain.