While the ongoing India vs Australia ODI series is headlined with the comebacks of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, another player who returned to the setup is Shreyas Iyer. He has also become an ODI specialist, having been ignored in T20Is and also announcing his break from red-ball cricket recently.
Well done, Shreyas Iyer
Iyer has been a shining light in the 50-over format in the last couple of years, having stopped India’s number four conundrum. Since 2022, Iyer has made 1430 runs at number four, with his average (55.00) and strike rate (98.41) being one of the best across the globe. Now, after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Iyer returned to the fold. He was undone by the sheer troubles that Josh Hazlewood possessed in Perth.
Now in Adelaide, Iyer rediscovered his form and handed India a great boost in the second one-day international. Hazlewood was once again unplayable with the new ball, bowling out his entire ten-over spell while leaking a mere 29 runs. He bowled 7 overs straight from the start and Iyer weathered the early storm. He forged a superb partnership alongside Rohit Sharma (73), who faced his own storms early on.
What Iyer did was incredible at the start. While Rohit struggled, Iyer was the one who applied himself and hit some much-needed boundaries. He walked in after Xavier Bartlett broke the hearts of all the Indians when he plumbed Virat Kohli for a duck. He hit Adam Zampa, Matt Short and Mitchell Starc for runs and got his 23rd fifty in 72 innings.
Just when India needed Iyer to fire more, he perished. He hit him for a four through covers in the 33rd over before the leggie bowled a short one. Iyer tried to pull, but it wasn’t that short before the stumps got disturbed. Soon, India lost KL Rahul too, with Axar Patel needing to take the burden of finishing the innings. Now with a fifty on his back, Iyer would love to make the most of his form in the third ODI.
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