It never looked like Shreyas Iyer had played an international match in over 2 months. The Indian ODI vice-captain had played two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches as a warm-up for the India vs New Zealand series. The move clearly paid off. Against the Kiwis in Vadodara, Shreyas was at his fluent best.
Entering the middle in the 27th over, the 31-year-old had ample time to settle in. The target of 301 was well within reach. Virat Kohli, Shreyas’ batting partner, was well set. At his best, Shreyas is an attacking batter. After a couple of deliveries, he started to play his shots.
Shreyas Iyer’s lapse of judgement
It was smooth sailing. He and Kohli were breezing towards an easy victory. But then, Kyle Jamieson arrived at the party. In the 40th over, the tall pacer got the wicket of Kohli, on 93, and then Ravindra Jadeja. India went from 234/2 to 239/5. All of a sudden, the chase got tricky.
Now, it was on Shreyas to take charge as the set batter. Already in his 40s, he was well set. India needed just 62 runs from 54 balls. This was very much gettable. And then, Shreyas had a brain fade. For some reason, he decided to take Jamieson on. He looked to flick the ball across the line and got his stump rattled.
New Zealand was cock-a-hoop. The commentators were baffled by the shot selection. Former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull described Shreyas’ mode of dismissal as a ‘nothing shot’. With chances of Washington Sundar not coming out to bat, Shreyas had extra responsibility. But he had one of those lapses of judgement moments.
“It was a nothing shot. I don’t know what he tried to do there. That was a poor way to get out,” Simon Doull said live on air.
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