Venkatesh Iyer‘s first national assignment in Lancashire has faced major setbacks that culminated in his first-ever loss as an Indian all-rounder during the four-run win against Northamptonshire on Sunday August 11. He was handed over the responsibility to deliver the important penultimate over during the very tight game that took place at Northampton.
In fact, he went through three matches without taking a single wicket for Lancashire and had difficulty scoring runs too. Even when playing against Northamptonshire recently he managed to score only fifteen runs from seventeen balls while batting at number five position but his bowling stood out in their second innings.
Unfortunately, even as they sought to chase down 241 runs, Northamptonshire found themselves needing twenty-one off those final two overs with four men remaining unscathed. The first over bowled by Iyer was poor since it gave away seven runs with just two balls remaining including two no-balls and one boundary hit.
However on the other hand he made a recovery that included a wicket of Ricardo Vasconcelos in the fourth delivery of that over. The body of the left handed batter was attacked by Iyer, who came round the wicket. Vasconcelos moved to his right to get some space and tried to send the ball over covers.
Nevertheless, it was the long-off fielder that he succeeded in hitting with his attempt. You can watch the video here:
https://x.com/lancscricket/status/1822680873210110051
Iyer ended the over with two deliveries that yielded only one run and finished the match taking 1-40 in eight overs. Following him, Chris Green did outstandingly well by defending the remaining 12 runs in the last over to secure a victory for Lancashire.
Iyer has accumulated 43 runs across four matches in the One-Day Cup to date
The county spell appears to provide an excellent opportunity for Iyer to stay in shape during the downtime of Indian domestic cricket. Although he was a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad that won the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) championship, he is still far from making it into national selection.
So far, Lancashire has given him twelve overs in One-Day Cup matches. His first wicket as an all-rounder would aid his return into the team.
However, aside from his bowling skills, he also needs to exhibit some power in batting which is basically his primary strength. Up till now, he has only scored forty-three runs in four games with his best record being fifteen runs.
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