Shreyas Iyer Lauded By LSG Mentor After Impressive Match-Winning Knock vs England

Shreyas Iyer’s last international game for India came during the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he struggled badly against the spinners of the Island side. The entire Indian side found it hard to deal with the spinners.

Iyer wasn’t supposed to face England during the opening game of the three-match series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. He planned to enjoy a late-night movie in his room before the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, knocked on his door to reveal his participation in the clash.

Shreyas Iyer's last-minute participation in Nagpur ODI

It was Virat Kohli’s knee injury that ruled him out of the opening encounter of the series. That pushed the management to hand a debut cap to opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, while Shubman Gill was promoted to the number three position.

Also Read: Shubman Gill Says He Was Not ‘Targeting A Hundred’ While Defending His Nagpur ODI Dismissal

Iyer walked at the number four position during their 249-run chase and started to smash the England pacers straightaway. He pulled the short ball from Jofra Archer over deep mid-wicket for a couple of sixes, besides guiding the leg-sided delivery through the covers for a boundary.

The Mumbai batter used his feet to nail the bowlers in different parts of the ground. England’s captain, Jos Buttler, introduced Adil Rashid into the attack, but that didn’t work as he timed the spinner in perfection to celebrate his half-century. Shreyas Iyer cracked a fine knock of 59 runs in 36 deliveries to revive India’s innings and ensured a comfortable victory by four wickets and ten overs to spare.

Shreyas Iyer’s impressive contribution in ODIs

It could have been a bizarre decision to drop their best middle-order batter. The right-handed batter was India’s second leading run-getter during the 2023 ODI World Cup with the help of 530 runs in 11 innings at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24 with the help of three half-centuries and two centuries at the best score of unbeaten 128 runs.

India featured in just three ODIs last year. But in 2023, Shreyas Iyer collected 846 runs in 19 innings at an ODI average of 52.87 and a strike rate of 112.50, shouldering on three centuries and four half-centuries at the best score of 128*.

During his time away from the international side, Shreyas Iyer showed his skills during the domestic white-ball competition. The Mumbai batter nailed 325 runs in five innings at an average of 325 and a strike rate of 131.57 with the help of two centuries at the best score of 137*.

Zaheer Khan praises Shreyas Iyer’s knock vs England

During a recent interaction on Cricbuzz, the national side’s former left-arm pacer, Zaheer Khan, lauded Iyer for his self-belief, highlighting how his approach could be vital for the management’s plans in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Also Read: Harshit Rana Sends ‘Not Bothered’ Response To Concussion Substitute Controversy vs England

“You talk about everything in that knock. The counterattack was just a brilliant inning to watch. At that stage in the game, when the ball is hard, you have already lost two wickets, someone to walk in like that and with such confidence, and taking the attack to the opposition is something, which worked well.” Zaheer expressed this during a recent discussion.

“Set the tone for that run-chase because we've seen later on how the pitch was turning, how it became a little tricky towards the end. By then, all the work was done. So Shubman and Shreyas's partnership and Shreyas has been that key component in that partnership.” Zaheer Khan addressed.

Shreyas will hope to carry the same form for the next two games in Cuttack and Ahmedabad. He will aim to contribute in the Champions Trophy 2025.