Shreyas Iyer joins national queue with classy reminder of form

Watch out Manish Pandey and KL Rahul.

VIJAYAWADA: Watch out Manish Pandey and KL Rahul. As India’s search for No 4 in the ODI middle-order continues, Shreyas Iyer seems to have joined the queue on the back of Sunday’s 97-ball 108 for India A against New Zealand A.

The No 4 slot needs an enforcer, who can take the attack to the opposition. With Pandey and Rahul failing to make most of opportunities, the day selectors are forced to look elsewhere doesn’t seem far away. After a scintillating 140 in a tri-series final in South Africa with the A side, Shreyas sent another reminder of his abilities on Sunday.

Coming in at No 5 on Day 2 of the four-day game, Shreyas took time to settle down. Once the first boundary flowed off his blade in the 18th ball he faced and R Samarth departed a ball later, the Mumbaikar launched a counterattack that is becoming a hallmark of his batting. “When I started, I was just focusing on the first 20 balls. The idea was not to attack from the first ball. I decided I would play to the merit of each ball and it worked well until I reached hundred. I was hitting it well. There was no plan of attacking from the word go,” Shreyas said.

Though none of the Kiwi bowlers, with the exception to leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (5/94), troubled the batsmen, Shreyas had to overcome hot and humid conditions. In South Africa, despite getting starts, the right-hander struggled to convert. The way he tried to overcome that problem sheds some light on the way he goes about his batting.

“I used to worry a lot after getting to 30-40. Now, I try to attack the moment I reach that phase. I take on the bowler and see to it that he varies his line and bowls to my strengths. It helps a lot. Today also, in the 30s, I tried to step out and attack as they were bowling short. With spread out fields, I started getting singles and twos and came out of that phase.”

While most batsmen prefer caution in such situations, Shreyas’ approach tells a lot about how he trusts his natural game. One thing that India A coach Rahul Dravid seems to have stressed is to see off the initial period and bat as long as possible. This, in the longer-format, suits Shreyas. On Sunday, he hit 14 boundaries and two sixes.

“He (Dravid) asked me to try to bat time and that is what he keeps repeating. Even in South Africa (final), I started slowly in the sense that the ball count was more than runs. But in the end I had made up for it. Now I know that I have to give the initial part to the bowlers. I will get my chance to make up for it.”
The Yo-Yo test, common with the Indian side to test fitness, seems to have woken up Shreyas too.

It is quite telling that since coming back from South Africa, he spent a considerable time at the NCA to work on fitness. “Before going to South Africa we had taken a fitness test, and my Yo-Yo test was average. It wasn’t up to the mark I had set. I went to NCA, did the rehab and trained hard. I have gained strength and I can hit sixes without much effort. It has given me huge confidence.”

venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com
Brief scores: NZ A 147 & 64/2 vs Ind A 320 (Samarth 54, Iyer 108, Pant 67; Sodhi 5/94).

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