Shreyas Iyer’s performance was one of the very few bright spots for Team India in their series-conceding five-run defeat against Bangladesh in the second ODI at Dhaka on Wednesday (December 7).
Chasing 272 to win, the Men in Blue were reduced to 65/4 before Iyer produced a steady knock of 82 in 102 balls to bail India out of trouble. In the process, the right-hander was involved in a 107-run partnership with Akshar Patel (56).
However, once the partnership was broken, the visitors suffered another mini collapse and slipped to 213/8. While skipper Rohit Sharma, who sustained a thumb injury during Bangladesh’s innings, slammed a scintillating half-century (51* off 28 balls) batting at No. 9, it wasn’t enough to take the tourists over the finishing line.
Reflecting on the second ODI, veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik praised Shreyas Iyer’s knock and also lauded his consistency in the 50-over format this year.
“I think the way he has played for a period of time has been phenomenal. He has scored 700-plus runs just this year and you can see the confidence. One Day International cricket is something right up his alley, he likes the fact that he can take a few balls and then start launching. Terrific player of spin and the fact that these days every time he walks in, they test him with short balls and he is coming good, almost every game,” Karthik said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
Talking more about Iyer, Karthik stated that the middle-order batter needs to consistently finish games for India, just like Virat Kohli has done over the years.
“Yes, he had the odd failure which could be due to a short ball but every time he crosses that you can see he is a man on a mission and he wants to be there for the team at the end. He looked good in this knock, he dominated right through the time he was batting. Yes, wickets fell around him but he didn't give up and I really like that about him. He almost took India to a place where - I think it was safe but if you want to make your name as a player, you want to make a name like what Virat Kohli has done over the years, these are the games that you wanna be 120-130 not out, that is a big difference,” he added.
“You want to stay not out in the chases and be the guy who takes the country home. That is something he would genuinely miss today. Scoring 82 looks good, and feels good, but it is only when you cross the line - being a middle-order batter and winning such games. When you start doing consistently, you get the feeling that teams fear you,” Karthik concluded.
The third and final ODI will be played in Chattogram on Saturday (December 10).
