Venkatesh Iyer, the most expensive buy in Kolkata Knight Riders’ history at ₹23.75 crore, had a night to forget on the field during their high-voltage clash against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. The moment in question came when CSK batter Vijay Shankar got a massive reprieve—one that could have shifted the momentum CSK’s way—thanks to a misjudged catch by Iyer that will likely feature in the blooper reels for a long time.
The incident occurred in the middle overs when Harshit Rana delivered a well-disguised off-cutter. Shankar, looking to accelerate, closed the face of the bat a little too early and ended up getting a leading edge. The ball ballooned gently toward the mid-wicket region, where Venkatesh Iyer stood perfectly positioned, having barely moved a step.
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With all the time in the world and no fielding pressure around him, Iyer somehow made a complete mess of it, spilling what was arguably the simplest catch of the tournament—if not IPL history. It was especially painful to watch, considering Shankar had already been dropped once before, by Sunil Narine, off Varun Chakravarthy’s bowling.
Venkatesh Iyer drops Vijay Shankar now.
Poor effort. pic.twitter.com/zMoPlX5F1z
— KnightRidersXtra (@KKR_Xtra) April 11, 2025
Venkatesh Iyer’s blunder effectively gave the CSK batter a second life, and Shankar made the most of it for a while, smashing a couple of clean hits and showing positive intent in an innings where Chennai needed someone to stabilize after early blows.
Eventually, Shankar’s luck ran out. Batting on 29, he mistimed a slog sweep off Chakravarthy and was caught in the deep. Though he missed out on a big score, his brief cameo helped CSK rebuild after early setbacks.
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As it stands, Chennai are 62/3 after 11 overs, with Rahul Tripathi and Shivam Dube trying to steer the ship forward. For KKR, Iyer’s drop could prove costly in a tight contest, and it will surely spark conversations about pressure, price tags, and fielding standards at the highest level.
