Venkatesh Iyer has joined the English county side Lancashire for the 2024-25 season of the English One Day Cup. In his second match of the season, the Indian all-rounder emerged as the hero, helping his team secure a win in a crunch situation.
On August 14, at Old Trafford in Manchester, Lancashire faced Worcestershire in their final group match of the tournament. Batting first, Lancashire were restricted to 237 runs, with Venkatesh Iyer struggling to make an impact, scoring a slow 25 runs off 44 balls. Skipper Josh Bohannon was the top scorer, contributing 87 runs from 123 balls.
Venkatesh Iyer takes 2 wickets in 2 balls to win the match
However, Worcestershire had a shaky start to their chase, and it was time for their skipper to step up. Worcestershire captain Jake Libby played a crucial knock of 83 runs off 104 balls, but wickets kept falling at the other end. In the last two overs, Lancashire needed to defend 16 runs with two wickets remaining. Skipper Bohannon decided to hand the ball to Venkatesh Iyer.
Iyer had a disastrous start to the over, conceding a leg-bye four on the very first ball, followed by four byes on the second. His over continued with a wide, a single, and then another wide. It seemed like giving Iyer the pressure over was a mistake by the Lancashire captain. With 8 balls remaining, Worcestershire now needed just 4 runs to win.
4 runs needed in 8 balls with 2 wickets in hands.
– Venkatesh Iyer got 2 wickets in 2 balls to win the match. 💥pic.twitter.com/IMU0tuSVqs
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 15, 2024
But in a dramatic turn of events, Venkatesh Iyer managed to dismiss the set batter Tom Hinley on the 5th ball. The pressure then shifted to tailender Harry Darley. Iyer held his nerve, delivering a wicket-to-wicket ball that struck Darley on the pad as he missed the shot. After a loud appeal from the Lancashire team, Darley was given out.
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Though Lancashire finished the group stage at the bottom of the table, the win at the end of their season gave them some consolation. On the other hand, Worcestershire made it to the quarter-finals, finishing 2nd in the standings. The quarter-finals will be played on August 16, followed by the semi-finals on August 18. The final of the tournament will take place a month later on September 22.