In the IPL 2023 match against Mumbai Indians, Venkatesh Iyer scripted history for the Kolkata Knight Riders as he achieved the distinction of being the second player ever from KKR to hit a century in the lucrative tournament, after Brendon McCullum's unforgettable 158 runs in the inaugural IPL match versus Royal Challengers Bangalore. Venkatesh Iyer's century is notable for the fact that it comes 15 years after McCullum's heroic performance.
Joining an exclusive club
The left-handed batsman reached the three-figure milestone in just 53 balls, displaying a brilliant array of shots all over the ground against the MI bowlers. Despite suffering an injury to his leg during his innings, he showed remarkable resilience and courage to continue playing.
KKR recently posted a recap video from 2020 of then coach Brendon McCullum, who was surprised at the fact that no player since him had scored a century for KKR. McCullum expressed confidence that the scenario would soon change and maybe one or two Indians would step up and achieve the milestone.
Fast forward three years, and Venkatesh Iyer finally eclipsed the feat and reached the hallowed three figure mark.
Iyer recalled having a conversation with McCullum when he first joined KKR and expressed his desire to become the first player since the former New Zealand captain to score a hundred for the Kolkata franchise.
"When I first joined the team, I remember a conversation that I had with Baz in Chennai. He asked me about my personal goals for the season, and I told him, I want to be the second person who scores a century for KKR."
"He told me that with the correct attitude, you might even end up scoring two in that season. Unfortunately, I couldn't score a century in that season, but I'm really happy this happened yesterday."
Despite Iyer's well made century, which propelled KKR to a decent target of 185/5 in their 20 overs, their bowlers couldn't hold out for a win as Mumbai chased down the target at the Wankhede Stadium with two overs to spare.
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