Shreyas Iyer was awarded Player of the Match for his unbeaten half-century in second T20I.
India batter Shreyas Iyer is having a great T20I series against Sri Lanka with the bat. He has scored consecutive half-centuries in the first two T20Is, which India won convincingly to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead.
Iyer had scored 57* runs in the first T20I, and he followed it up with another terrific knock of unbeaten 74 runs off 44 balls in the second match. He smashed 6 fours and 4 sixes while chasing 184 runs in the second T20I, as India won the match by 7 wickets.
India batting great Sunil Gavaskar was impressed by Iyer's batting approach and he said, “That is the beauty about this particular Indian team. There are so many options virtually for every single spot in the team. So anybody who gets an opportunity knows he needs to grab it and cannot waste it.
"What Shreyas Iyer has shown in this innings is the cleverness of his batting. The way he was moving away when there was no deep third man and hitting the ball over, the way he was moving towards the offside and clipping the ball to the onside. That shows a batsman who is supremely confident of himself and the skill he possesses."
Gavaskar further spoke about Sanju Samson, who is returning to the side after a long time. Samson couldn't bat in the first match, but he got the opportunity in the second T20I and scored 39 runs off 25 balls.
“The difference between what you have and to make it happen is temperament and shot selection, in his case he is showing he can do. And also to see Sanju Samson do it because he is one of my favorite players. And to see him come good has been fantastic,” he added.
Iyer's risk-free batting and shots down the ground made the ex-India cricketer praise him. Gavaskar even compared one of his shots with the Tennis stars like Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
“First thing he did was hit that straight drive for a boundary. After that it was…even if he was lofting the ball, he was doing it in the ‘V’. So less chances of being caught because fielders are on either side of the sightscreen. So basically, play as straight as possible and even if the ball does anything it will have an inside or outside edge.
"Iyer was playing with the full face of the bat as much as possible except the odd occasions. He was unbelievable. It was more like a Djokovic or a Federer forehand,” Gavaskar said.
(With Star Sports Inputs)