"He is called CLUTCH IYER among our fandom" - Fans hail Venkatesh Iyer for scintillating 29-ball 60 in KKR vs SRH IPL 2025 clash

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer produced a sparkling innings in the all-important IPL 2025 clash against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens on April 3. The 30-year-old missed out in his first two batting stints of the season with scores of only 6 and 3.

Having been acquired at the 2025 auction for a whopping ₹23.75 crores, the pressure was mounting on Iyer to deliver the goods. And the left-hander did just that with a brilliant 60 off 29 deliveries, including seven boundaries and three maximums.

Iyer reached his half-century off just 25 balls, propelling KKR to a massive 200/6 in their 20 overs. The southpaw was one of KKR's heroes in their title run last year, scoring 370 runs in 15 outings.

Fans on X were elated with Venkatesh Iyer's return to form and reacted as follows:

Fans continued their praise for Venkatesh Iyer, saying:

"Fucking trolls doubting a champion like Venkatesh Iyer. He has won us countless games, hell he scored in finals. Hate such type of fans."

"Venkatesh Iyer repays the first EMI of his ₹24 crore deal with a fiery 60 off 29 balls. Expecting more such installments ahead," tweeted a fan.

"Venkatesh Iyer is standing up for KKR today in their most important game as they need momentum here.I won’t be surprised if he becomes the captain of KKR in future," a fan said.

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"Not the Eden I have played over the last two years" - Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer believes the Eden Gardens surface for the ongoing KKR-SRH clash is vastly different from the ones over the last couple of years. He felt the ball was holding off the wicket and not coming onto the bat for fluent strokeplay.

Apart from Iyer, KKR received solid contributions from Angkrish Raguvanshi (50 off 32), skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27), and Rinku Singh (32* off 17).

Talking to the broadcaster as the mid-innings break, Iyer said:

"It was evident that the ball was holding up a bit, not the Eden I have played over the last two years, I think this is a very competitive score, if we bowl and field well, we should win this. I was watching the match from the screen, it wasn't easy to play shots, the ball was holding a bit, Ajinkya (Rahane) and Angkrish ((Raghuvanshi) were really good to set-up the innings for us."

KKR have lost two of their first three games of the ongoing season and are looking for their first home win in IPL 2025.