India’s Shreyas Iyer performs a shot through the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai Worldwide Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Six years in the past, through the 2019 50-over World Cup, India’s journey ended within the semifinals when it misplaced to New Zealand. One of many weak hyperlinks throughout that marketing campaign was the unstable middle-order, particularly the essential No. 4 spot.
Whereas the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ok.L. Rahul and Virat Kohli gave solidity on the prime, the middle- and lower-order had a removed from settled look.
Ambati Rayudu was groomed to bat at two-drop within the lead-up, however on the final minute, Vijay Shankar was most popular over him for his means to ship in just a few overs of medium-pace. As soon as the latter was injured, the middle-order misplaced stability.
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Ever since, the Males in Blue have been clear about investing in a dependable No. 4 batter in ODIs. Given the chance, Shreyas Iyer has developed in that function.
The 30-year-old had a dream World Cup in 2023scoring 530 runs, together with two centuries at a powerful strike charge of 113.
His document since 2022 additional accentuates his case as among the best middle-order batters in current occasions. Of the 45 matches he has performed within the final three years, he has walked in at 4 on 26 events and scored 1186 runs, the fifth-highest. Extra importantly, the Mumbai batter has the most effective common among the many top-five (56.47) and the most effective strike charge (104.95).
Although he had a middling collection in Sri Lanka final 12 months the place most batters struggled within the three-match joust, Shreyas roared again with scores of 59, 44, 78 (towards England), 15 (Bangladesh), and 56 (Pakistan), the latest.
Identified for his means to deal with the spinners, Shreyas confirmed his full vary whereas taking over the Pakistan tweakers through the middle-overs and shut out any hope for Mohammed Rizwan’s males. He was the proper foil for Virat Kohli, and shouldered the duty of taking over the spinners. He swept and revere-swept, even stepping out to go straight down the bottom.
About his strategy, Shreyas stated, “It’s not all the time set. Typically you go in whenever you lose two wickets shortly. Both means, I like to tackle the bowlers when beneath stress. That’s my mindset.
“If we take cost and shift the momentum, it’s simple to regular the ship. From there, when the remainder of the batters are available in, it turns into simple for them.”
However regardless of his outstanding document, he was not a positive starter for the Champions Trophy. Following his 36-ball 59 towards England in Nagpur earlier this month, Shreyas revealed he wouldn’t have performed that recreation if not for Kohli pulling out as a result of a niggle on the final minute.
Shreyas walked in when the staff was in bother at 19 for 2 and instantly put the stress again on the English bowlers.
Whereas he has most photographs in his armoury, one weak point has been his lack of assurance whereas tackling bouncers. Nevertheless, in the previous few months, Shreyas appears to have fine-tuned his batting to beat this drawback.
Within the recreation at Nagpur, when Jofra Archer tried to bounce him, he maintained a secure base, pulled and ramped him for six over long-on and third-man. Even towards Pakistan, he was prepared for the chin-music, pulling Haris Rauf over mid-wicket.
From being a certainty in all three codecs 18 months in the past, Shreyas was in peril of being frozen out of worldwide cricket. However within the final month, he grabbed the one huge likelihood that landed on his lap at Nagpur, utilizing the ‘blessing’ and reinforcing his worth to the star-studded batting line-up.
Printed – February 27, 2025 04:32 pm IST
