As Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wrapped up their innings at 200 for 6, Venkatesh Iyer stood at the edge of the dugout, embracing Angkrish Raghuvanshi in a moment of silent acknowledgment. While the gesture seemed to signal "mission accomplished", it was more of a nod to the fact that KKR had posted a competitive total, especially after being 122 for 4 after 15 overs, to give their bowlers a chance to test Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

In the end, KKR's bowling attack ensured the target was more than sufficient. But in hindsight, it was the blistering 91-run stand in just 41 balls between Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh that reshaped SRH's perception of the chase, turning a manageable ask into a daunting one.

Venkatesh, who top-scored with a 29-ball 60, said that even in the age of batters being aggressive from the first ball, there were still plenty of benefits of taking a few balls early to set your eye in.

"The messages that they [Ajinkya Rahane and Raghuvanshi] sent during the time-out, they made us understand that it's not an easy pitch to just go out there and hit. You have to take your time," Venkatesh told reporters after the match. "Ball was sticking a little, it was turning.

"So it was important for us not to chew a few balls, but to take time to understand what the pitch has to offer. And I have that luxury because we have Rinku [Singh], Ramandeep [Singh] and [Andre] Russell in the backend.

"Even if I take a few balls, I know that if I can cover it to an extent, we still have our engine room who can demolish any bowling attack. So the plan was to understand the pitch first and then react accordingly."

It worked as Venkatesh and Rinku accelerated after the 15th over when they were on 11 off ten and 6 off eight balls, respectively.

But with two set batters at the crease, anything less than full-throttle hitting would have been an opportunity wasted with Russell, Ramandeep and in this game, Moeen Ali still padded up. While this depth in the line-up gives batters the freedom to play fearlessly - knowing their wicket holds less individual value - Venkatesh pointed out another reason.

"We tried to milk it around, understand the condition," Venkatesh said. "It was never easy for a new batter to go out there and hit. To be very honest, even if Ramandeep and Russell would have come in the 18th over, they would have had to take a couple of balls to understand the nature of the surface. I had that luxury, Rinku had that luxury. We had taken a few balls and then it became easy for us.

"But I think the frame of mind that you are talking about, once we hit the 17th over, we just understood that we can tee off now. We had taken enough time. We had to hit because we have three more batters coming in, but in order to hit and in order to execute the plans properly, it was important for us to spend time out there and that's what we did."

Reflecting on his low scores - 3 and 6 - in his first two knocks before this breakout innings, Venkatesh felt he was "rushing a little" earlier in the tournament. He further said they wanted to be a team that posted "20 runs above par" and not just swing from ball one.

"It's very important for us to show positive but correct intent," he said. "If we are 50 for 6 and I still go and tonk everything, that's positive, but that's not correct.

"Aggression does not mean tonking every ball for sixes. It's about how you understand the conditions, how you are able to maximize the conditions in your favour. And that is what aggression actually is. We don't want to be the team that scores 250 when we're playing well and when we're not, we get out for 70.

"We want to be a team who understands the pitch and the conditions quickly. To assess the par score and try to make 20 runs above par."

Venkatesh acknowledged that their total wasn't entirely comfortable against a team like SRH. However, he credited Vaibhav Arora, the Player of the Match, for his impactful new-ball spell that shifted the momentum firmly in KKR's favour.

"Even after scoring 220, sometimes we feel that they can change it," he said. "But we always knew that a team which is ultra-aggressive always carries the risk of getting wickets. That's what we wanted to exploit. We have Vaibhav Arora who bowls in the powerplay to pick up wickets and he did that. A team that hits every ball also has the chance of going down early. And that's what we wanted to exploit."