As Virat Kohli Gets Criticised For Slow Strike-Rate, KKR Star Reveals True Nature Of Pitch

Following his side's win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer lauded all-rounder Sunil Narine for taking off pressure from batters with his explosive knock in the powerplay. Veteran West Indies star Narine made his 500th T20 outing memorable for himself and KKR as he shined with an all-round show, helping his side secure a dominant seven-wicket win over RCB at Chinnnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

During the match, Venkatesh smashed a half-century but seemed to have injured his back during the knock while playing a shot.

"Let us see how my back is. I will know after a scan. The ball was coming on well in the evening. Credit goes to Sunil Narine, whose runs took the pressure off us. We just had to finish the formalities. With a platform like that, you have to maximise (on his mindset). Also, my fiance was here today so it was a special day. (Facing Vijaykumar Vyshak) Pace-off in totality was tough but if fast bowlers bowled pace-on, it was easy to take them to the cleaners. It happened with us in our bowling innings too," said Iyer in the post-match presentation.

RCB batter Kohli was criticised for his slow knock, despite the star batter scoring 83 off 59 balls.

However, Venkatesh revealed that the pitch was two paced, slightly slower in the first innings.

"The wicket was two paced and double bounce in first innings. And it was very difficult to hit bounderies in first innings. And pitch getting better to bat in second innings in yesterday's match at Chinnaswamy," he added.

After KKR won the toss, they opted to field. After losing skipper Faf early, Virat Kohli had a 65-run partnership with Cameron Green (33 in 21 balls, with four