His innings propelled Madhya Pradesh into a strong position, enabling them to set a challenging target for Kerala.
KKR star Venkatesh Iyer shines ahead of IPL 2025 with an unbeaten 80 representing Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy clash against Kerala.
After being released by KKR before the IPL 2025 auction, Venkatesh Iyer was bought back by the franchise in the auction for INR 23.75 crore.
In the match against Kerala, Venkatesh Iyer came to bat at number 8 in the second innings when his team was at 247/6. Venkatesh Iyer then played an aggressive knock, scoring an unbeaten 80 off just 70 balls, which included 2 fours and 6 sixes. For the 9th wicket partnership alongside Avesh Khan, Venkatesh Iyer built an 84-run stand, contributing 62 runs himself. His innings propelled Madhya Pradesh into a strong position, enabling them to set a challenging target for Kerala.
During the first innings, Venkatesh Iyer suffered an ankle injury and had to leave the field. However, it was a relief for everyone that it was just a scare and, as a precautionary measure, he did not fielded on Day 2. This comes as a good news for his IPL franchise, KKR as well, because Iyer might be their potential future captain for the upcoming season and is expected to play an important role.
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MP fought back from the first innings 7-run deficit to score 369/8 in the second innings. Rajat Patidar scored 92, Shubham Sharma added 54, and Venkatesh Iyer contributed a quickfire 80, helping MP set a target of 363 runs.
In reply, chasing the target, Kerala are 211/7 at the time of writing the report, needing 152 more runs to win. Sarvate is at the crease unbeaten on 63* and Azharuddeen just got out on 68.
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