Kolkata Knight Riders’ vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer thinks it’s better not to prepare specific pitches at home. As a professional cricketer, he believes in adapting to what’s thrown at them. Still, he acknowledged that it would help the team if the conditions at Eden Gardens suited them. This conversation about home advantage sparked when Eden’s pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee turned down the captain Ajinkya Rahane’s request for spin-friendly tracks in this IPL season.
Rahane’s concerns came after their spinner Varun Chakravarthy struggled in their first game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where they lost by 43 runs. After KKR’s solid 80-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Venkatesh and Rahane touched on the topic of home field advantages. Venkatesh stated that while he believes players should adapt to the conditions, having favorable ones at home would benefit them.
In the post-match press conference, he said, We bowled well and made the most of the pitch. I don’t think the pitch needs to be one way or another; as professionals, we’ll adjust. But if the conditions are in our favor at home, that’s great for us.
KKR’s focus on adjusting to the circumstances showed when they played against Sunrisers. After a lively fifty from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh and Rinku Singh turned the match around by putting together a quick 91-run partnership. Starting at a shaky 122/4 after 15 overs, their efforts took KKR to a strong 200/6, flipping the chase into a tough task for Hyderabad.
Venkatesh, who scored 60 runs off 29 balls, explained his approach. He emphasized the importance of taking time to get a feel for the pitch rather than swinging from the first ball. He mentioned, “During the time-out, Ajinkya and Raghuvanshi reminded us that this pitch isn’t just about hitting right away. We had to take our time and understand how it played.”
He added, I have the luxury of having Rinku, Ramandeep, and Russell behind me, so I knew even if I took a couple of balls, they could handle any attack. This plan worked, as they picked up the pace in the 15th over, pushing KKR to a solid total. Sunrisers struggled in their innings and ended up with 120 runs, unable to mount any real threat and losing by 80 runs.