Venkatesh Iyer silenced his critics in style, hammering a match-winning 60 off 29 balls to propel Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a commanding 80-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL on Thursday.

Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (50 off 32 balls, 5x4, 2x6) provided stability in an 81-run stand with captain Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27 balls), setting a solid foundation. The late fireworks came courtesy of Iyer and *Rinku Singh (32 off 17 balls)**, who stitched together a blistering 91-run partnership off just 41 balls to push KKR to 200/6—their highest total of the season.