"I have been focusing on my process rather than the result" - KKR's Venkatesh Iyer on his knock against MI in IPL 2022
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has said that he has been prioritising the process rather than the end result. The 27-year-old top-scored with 43 in KKR's comfortable win over Mumbai Indians (MI).
After being retained by the franchise due to his exploits in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, Iyer has had a lukewarm campaign so far. The Madhya Pradesh player has only scored 175 runs in ten matches.
After his slew of low scores, he was demoted to the lower middle order and was even dropped for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) game.
Adding that it feels good to contribute towards a IPL team win, Iyer said in a post-match chat with teammate Pat Cummins:
"Just wanted to go out there and enjoy. It has been a tough period for me, but I have been focusing on my process rather than the result. I cannot control what happens out there, the number of balls and the number of wickets, I can only control my process, and that is what I have been doing. Feels happy to contribute to a team victory."
KKR kept their quest alive for a playoff spot with a 52-run win over MI at the DY Patil Stadium. They are seventh in the IPL 2022 points table.
Catch the latest IPL score here every day!
"This was sort of a birthday gift I gave to myself" - Pat Cummins on his match-winning spell for KKR
After celebrating his 29th birthday inside the bio-bubble, Pat Cummins was back in the playing XI for KKR. The Australian missed a handful of games, which coincided with the franchise's losing streak.
The right-arm speedster was the pick of the bowlers against MI, though, recording figures of 3-22. He accounted for the wicket of the well-set Ishan Kishan and cleaned up the opposition's batting order.
Opining that it was a great feeling to be back among the wickets, Cummins said:
"Yeah, this was sort of a birthday gift I gave to myself. It's good to get a win. Had not played the last couple of matches, so good to be back in the side and take a couple of wickets. It's a great feeling. Pretty fired up after the last game when we missed out on the chance for the finals, so good to get a win tonight."
The Knight Riders will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their remaining games of IPL 2022.